Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg overtakes Warren Buffett to become the world’s third-richest person
Zuckerberg, 34, is now worth US$81.6 billion, about US$373 million more than Buffett, the 87-year-old chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway
Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has overtaken Warren Buffett as the world’s third-richest person, further emphasing technology as the most robust creator of wealth.
Zuckerberg, who trails only Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, eclipsed Buffett on Friday as Facebook shares climbed 2.4 per cent, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
It’s the first time that the three wealthiest people on the ranking made their fortunes from technology. Zuckerberg, 34, is now worth US$81.6 billion, about US$373 million more than Buffett, the 87-year-old chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway.
Zuckerberg’s ascent has been driven by investors’ continued embrace of Facebook, the social-network giant that shook off the fallout from a data-privacy crisis that hammered its shares, sending them to an eight-month low of US$152.22 on March 27. The stock closed on Friday at a record US$203.23.
Technology fortunes make up about a fifth of the more than US$5 trillion in wealth tracked by the Bloomberg index, more than any other sector. The ranking, which tracks the world’s 500 richest people, is updated after the close of each trading day in New York.