Mark Zuckerberg Just Joined an Elite 3-Member Club as a Centibillionaire
Mark Zuckerberg is synonymous with Facebook and at age 36, the young CEO has amassed a vast fortune.
The tech mogul occasionally faces harsh criticism over his company’s policies and politics, but it hasn’t affected his earnings. Zuckerberg’s expanding pile of wealth recently landed him on an exclusive new list occupied by only two other people on Earth.
Mark Zuckerberg is now part of elite centibillionaire’s club
As it goes, most of the world knows that Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook, has an astonishing net worth. In January 2020, that number fluctuated between $80 billion and $98 billion due to changes in the stock market. But it didn’t change the fact that he’s been a self-made billionaire since 2008.
He was only 23 then and joined the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Carlos Slim, Jeff Bezos, and George Lucas. As of Aug. 6, Zuckerberg’s wealth exceeded $100 billion, making him a centibillionaire, per Bloomberg.
He shares that space with fellow tech entrepreneurs Bezos and Bill Gates and is the youngest member of this unique gang.
How Mark Zuckerberg became a centibillionaire
It’s not often one sees the term centibillionaire, an indication that it’s a feat hard to achieve. Zuckerberg owes it to the new Instagram addition that launched on Aug. 5. In response to news that TikTok is facing a possible ban in the U.S., Facebook-owned Instagram rolled out Reels around the entire globe.
The latest feature on the popular app enables users to create short 15-second videos with special effects and music.
Though it’s in up in the air whether Reels will beat TikTok’s usage for influencers and other users, it upped Facebook’s stock price upon launch and therefore increased Zuckerberg’s wealth by $5.3 billion in just days.
Bloomberg reported that Zuckerberg owns a 13% stake in Facebook and since the beginning of the year, his fortune has grown by roughly $22 billion. His status can go up or down depending on stock prices and the success of Reels. Bezos remains the planet’s richest man.
Zuckerberg shares his wealth through charity
Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan continue to offer charitable aid through their Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Since March, they’ve given more than $50 million toward coronavirus relief and research and partnered up with Gates’ foundation to study treatment options.
Additionally, in May, Zuckerberg and Chan made headlines after donating $800,000 to eight local restaurants in the Bay Area to keep them afloat during COVID-19 lockdowns.
Back in 2015, the couple announced their intent to give away 99% percent of their Facebook shares during their lifetime. In an open letter written to their daughter Max, Chan and Zuckerberg pledged to invest this part of their fortune in support of learning, curing diseases, science, community-building, and equality.
To date, the couple’s foundation has donated more than $2 billion since its inception. For now, Instagram is helping Zuckerberg and Facebook maintain popularity in the social media arena, but if Reels catches on with content creators and casual users, Zuckerberg’s net worth could balloon again.
