Mark Zuckerberg has seen $29bn wiped off his net worth after the share price of Meta - owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp - saw a record one-day plunge.
The 26% collapse in the stock erased more than $200bn from Meta's market capitalisation, the biggest single-day drop in value for a US company ever seen.
It was prompted by disappointing quarterly results showing Facebook's first ever fall in daily users in its 18-year history and a squeeze on ad revenues, while highlighting growing pressure from social media rivals such as TikTok.
Mr Zuckerberg, Facebook's founder and chief executive of Meta, owns about 12.8% of the company - which is still valued at more than $660bn.
But the fall in his net worth to $85bn takes the 37-year-old down to 12th in the Forbes billionaires list, having been rated at fifth last year.
Meta's results showed a dip in Facebook daily active user numbers to 1.929 billion in the last three months of last year, down from 1.93 billion in the previous quarter while quarterly profits were 8% lower than a year earlier.
For 2021 as a whole, it still made a profit of $39.4bn, up 35% on the prior year.
But much in the gigantic valuations of America's tech giants is based on the prospect of future earnings and Meta disappointed on that score with revenues for the first quarter of this year pencilled in at a lower than expected level.
That prompted a sharp slump in the share price in after-hours trading following the release of the results late on Wednesday, which was confirmed when New York markets opened on Thursday.
Tech stocks have already been under pressure since the start of this year as investors fret about the growing prospect of US interest hikes.
That is because higher rates make it less attractive to bet on future returns from growth stocks.
However in recent days other tech giants are back in favour with well-received results.
Amazon's share price added 15% in after-hours trading on Thursday after it hiked the subscription price for members of its Prime programme and reported a 50% rise in profits to $33.4bn.
That put founder Jeff Bezos, who owns about a tenth of the business, in line for a $20bn increase in net worth if the gains were replicated when markets opened on Friday.
Elsewhere, Snap - owner of Snapchat - illustrated the volatility in the sector as its shares rose more than 50% in after-hours trading on Thursday, after posting a quarterly profit for the first time and reporting better than expected growth in user numbers.
It had plunged by 24% during regular trading earlier in the day following Meta's slump.
FAQs
Zuckerberg primarily sells Meta shares to fund philanthropic initiatives, according to company spokesperson. He has pledged to give away 99% of his stake to charitable purposes. Marc Benioff, Zuckerberg's peer in the tech world, also sold shares nearly every day in the second half of 2023.
How many shares of Meta does Zuckerberg own? ›
Zuckerberg, who is Meta's cofounder and CEO, holds 350 million Meta shares — or a 13% stake — in Meta, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
What is the biggest ever stock market loss for Facebook owner Meta? ›
One day before, Meta lost over $200 billion in value, the biggest loss in U.S. stock market history, after it issued a dismal forecast. Meta's dividend plan means a hefty payout for CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who owns about 350 million Meta Class A and Class B shares.
Why are billionaires selling stock? ›
"Billionaire CEOs like [Jeff] Bezos, [Mark] Zuckerberg, Jamie Dimon, and the Walton family are selling off massive amounts of their own stocks, and analysts think the CEOS may be bracing for an economic downturn," he said, adding, “An overheated stock market continues to climb to new heights as investors feed that ...
Why did Meta lose so much money? ›
The losses were primarily driven by what she termed “direct costs,” meaning costs that can be attributed to the production of a specific product, stemming from the headcount, operating expenses, and raw materials and labor that go into making the division's VR headsets.
Why did Meta price drop so much? ›
Last year at this time, Meta was navigating a crisis of confidence that had pushed its stock price to its lowest since 2016. Sales were dropping, TikTok was rising, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg's bet-the-house wager on the metaverse was looking like a money pit. Wall Street saw a very different story play out in 2023.
How much of Microsoft does Bill Gates own? ›
Bill Gates – 102,992,934 Shares – 1.34%
Gates' ownership in Microsoft dropped from 45% during the company's IPO in 1986 to only 1.34%, representing 102.99 million shares as per the last ownership disclosure in October 2019. Since stepping down in 2020, he has stopped publicly reporting his ownership of Microsoft.
Who owns most of Meta stock? ›
What percentage of Meta Platforms (META) stock is held by retail investors? According to the latest TipRanks data, approximately 44.73% of Meta Platforms (META) stock is held by retail investors. Vanguard owns the most shares of Meta Platforms (META).
Who owns Meta now? ›
According to Business Insider, Meta Platforms Inc., previously known as the Facebook Co., is a publicly-traded company, meaning it is not owned by a single person or group. However, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the majority shareholder of Meta, owning 13% of its stake as of January 2024.
How did Zuckerberg lost money? ›
Experts have now disclosed the amount of money that Zuckerberg lost as a result of this massive downtime. Wedbush Securities' managing director, Dan Ives, told DailyMail.com that Mark Zuckerberg lost about $100 million in income on Tuesday morning as a result of the platforms going down all over the world.
As of January 2024, he is the fifth-richest person in the world with a net worth of $139.1 billion, according to the Forbes Real Time Billionaire's List. An increase of $84 billion in one year translates to an estimated $9.6 million per hour or approximately $230.6 million each day.
Is Meta still losing money? ›
Meta Platforms
In the first nine months of 2023, the company's Reality Labs division, i.e. its forays into AR, VR and metaverse-related software, recorded an operating loss of $11.5 billion, which shows the company might be on course to break its own negative record of $13.7 billion in 2022.
Are billionaires cashing out? ›
CEOs are Dumping Billions of Their Own Stock
Their motivation for divesting from the market could hold serious implications for regular Americans. Here are just some of the recent major transactions1: Jeff Bezos: sold 50 million shares of Amazon worth $8.5 billion in just 9 days.
Who is the richest person in the world? ›
Who are the richest people in the world? ›
Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH, is the richest person and the richest man in the world with a net worth of $231 billion. After Arnault is Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. Other billionaires with some of the largest net worths include Tesla's Musk, Microsoft's Bill Gates, and Oracle's Larry Ellison.
Should we buy Meta shares? ›
With its 2-star rating, we believe Meta's stock is overvalued compared with our fair value estimate of $400 per share, representing an enterprise value of 11 times our 2024 adjusted EBITDA projection.
What percent of Meta does Zuckerberg own? ›
Zuckerberg owns 13% of Meta, and the holding makes up the bulk of his wealth.
Is it a good time to invest in Meta? ›
So far, so good. Meta stock surged after its fourth-quarter earnings report in early February, which showed record sales and was headlined by plans for its first-ever dividend. Meta stock is up more than 45% in 2024. Meta has stayed red-hot after surging nearly 200% in 2023.
Did Zuckerberg sell Meta stocks? ›
Mark Zuckerberg cashed in on his company's 2023 stock rally in a big way — selling nearly $428 million worth of shares in Meta Platforms Inc.
