Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg became $3.4 Billion richer in just about 1hour
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg added $3.4 billion to his fortune in just over an hour on Wednesday in after-hours trading, as the market cheered the social media company’s impressive second-quarter results.
The gains pushed Zuckerberg’s net worth to a new high of $56.7 billion, according to FORBES estimates. He is currently the world’s fifth-richest person, right behind Jeff Bezos, who has an estimated fortune of $64 billion.
Facebook’s stock price soared 6.5% in after-hours trading to $131.40, as of 5:15 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday. The rise followed the company’s announcement that revenues and earnings had eclipsed analysts’ estimates, primarily thanks to gains in mobile ad revenue. Revenues in the second quarter rose about 59% to $6.44 billion, topping the $6.02 billion that analysts predicted. Profits increased to $2.1 billion, or 71 cents a share, exceeding analysts’ estimates of 57 cents a share.
In April, Zuckerberg’s fortune rocketed up by $4.2 billion in after-hours trading after Facebook’s strong first-quarter earnings. Like other billionaires who hold the vast majority of their wealth in one company’s stock, his fortune can rise or fall by billions of dollars in minutes or hours, following quarterly reports or other major company news.
At age 32, Zuckerberg is the youngest of the world’s ten richest people. He first appeared on the Forbes 400 in September 2008 with a net worth of $1.5 billion, when Facebook was still a private company. Since its IPO in May 2012, Facebook stock has risen nearly 223%, catapulting him into the ranks of the five richest people on Earth. Besides Bezos, only Bill Gates, Amancio Ortega, Warren Buffett and Bezos are wealthier.
