Mark Zuckerberg Lost: Many digital billionaires have seen their wealth decline since the 2022 stock market crash, but none more so than Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
According to calculations by Bloomberg, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of the business formerly known as Facebook, has seen his net worth fall by over $71 billion this year. Zuckerberg, now 38, dropped from third place last year to number 22 this year on the Forbes billionaires list.
The steep decline in Meta’s stock, representing the majority of Zuckerberg’s wealth, is to blame for the fall. Although the financial markets decline this year has reduced the wealth of some internet billionaires by about a quarter, nobody — not even cryptocurrency CEO Changpeng Zhao — has experienced a wipeout comparable to that of Zuckerberg.
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Since Facebook changed its name to Meta almost a year ago, its stock price has fallen by around 60%, lowering Zuckerberg’s net worth.
The problem with the company’s traditional revenue model, which depends on selling a tonne of advertising against very detailed user data, is highlighted by its transition to the Metaverse. Changes to Apple’s iOS 14 made tracking more difficult for marketers last year, significantly reducing Meta’s revenue.
According to CFRA analyst Angelo Zino, who specializes in social media firms, Meta and Snap depend most heavily on iOS users. He cited Alphabet, the parent company of Google, claiming that their profitability had fared better “because they’re not as subject to the iOS changes.”
He continued, “The privacy issue has proven far more complex than most people had anticipated, and it will likely persist for much longer than anyone had thought.
In February, Meta revealed its first-ever decline in user counts along with sluggish revenue. The corporation has also raised spending by about $10 billion annually to complete the virtual reality Metaverse, a project that Zuckerberg has indicated could take many years to complete. Investors who notice a spike in short-term expenditure without a return guarantee may be concerned.
Over time, there are reasons to be hopeful if you’re an investor, but impatience is a common trait among investors, according to Zino, who spoke to CBS MoneyWatch.
Zuckerberg Remains Optimistic
The future of the internet as a whole “might conceivably get there,” he said, “you don’t know how long it takes and what exactly Meta’s role will be… all you know right now is. It’s going to cost a lot of money.”
However, Zuckerberg’s techno-optimism doesn’t seem to have been affected by the decline in his riches. The Meta CEO reiterated his conviction that the Metaverse would make people’s relationships with technology more “healthy” and “useful” when he spoke with podcast host Joe Rogan last month.
According to Fortune, Zuckerberg stated, “I don’t necessarily want people to spend more time on computers.” “I just want people to spend more time with screens in a better way.”
