Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of Facebook, who has an estimated net worth of US$67.3 billion. Photo: AP
Source:
https://scmp.com/magazines/style/people-events/article/3012232/why-mark-zuckerbergs-worth-rose-us9-billion-each-year Celebrities
How rich is Mark Zuckerberg? And how has he been getting US$9 billion richer each year?
- The American, 35, who is worth an estimated US$67.3 billion, is so wealthy that he can afford to live off an annual salary of just US$1
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of Facebook, who has an estimated net worth of US$67.3 billion. Photo: Xinhua
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and co-founder of Facebook, lost more money than any of the world’s 500 richest billionaires during the social media and social networking company’s catastrophic year.
Yet even though Zuckerberg's net worth has been on a roller-coaster ride recently, he still remains one of the world's richest people.
His estimated net worth is currently US$67.3 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
In spite of his billions, the 35-year-old American reportedly doesn't have a taste for opulent possessions, especially when it comes to cars, clothes, and travel.
However, he does have an affinity for developing his property portfolio – he recently spent US$60 million on two Lake Tahoe properties.
As a member of the Giving Pledge and co-founder of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which he started with his wife, Priscilla Chan, Zuckerberg has dedicated much of his fortune to charitable causes.
No matter how he spends his money, it seems that Zuckerberg will always have billions left over.
Check out nine surprising facts that show just how rich he is.
1. Zuckerberg ... is so rich he's able to live off an annual salary of US$1
He previously made a reported US$770,000 from his Facebook salary and bonuses, but he cut his salary to its current rate in 2013. That means a huge chunk of his wealth is tied to Facebook shares, of which he reportedly owns nearly 17 per cent.
2. ... has added an average of US$9 billion to his net worth every year since 2012
Facebook’s CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg celebrates the company’s initial public offering on the American Nasdaq stock exchange in May 2012. Photo: AP
Facebook held its initial public offering – where shares of the company were first sold to investors – in May 2012 and raised US$16 billion – the second biggest technology IPO in history.
Since then, the value of the shares have increased by more than 408 per cent for a current market capitalisation of US$547 billion, Fortune reported.
3. ... but in 2019 his net worth fell by nearly US$9 billion compared with the previous year
Zuckerberg's net worth fell US$9 billion following a year of Facebook scandals – but he still retained a spot in the world's top 10 richest people.
He slipped three places down Forbes' 2019 billionaire's list from fifth to eighth place.
4. ... reportedly earned about US$1.7 million an hour last year
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photo: Kyodo
His hourly earnings were calculated after finding the difference between his net worth in 2017 and 2018 – according to the Forbes' 2017 and 2018 richest people in the world lists. Zuckerberg’s annual earnings came to roughly US$15 billion.
The annual earnings were then divided by 8,760, the number of hours in a year, to calculate how much he earned an hour.
5. ... took less than an 90 minutes to earn what the average American man with a bachelor’s degree will earn in his lifetime – US$2.2 million, according to the US Social Security Administration
The average American woman with a bachelor’s degree will earn US$1.3 million in her lifetime, the SSA said.
Zuckerberg dropped out of university during his second year.
6. ... takes less than two minutes to earn what it takes the average US worker a year to earn — US$46,696.
Those figures are based on data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Zuckerberg reportedly earned US$28,538 per minute last year.
7. The average American household spending US$1 is similar to Zuckerberg spending US$700,000.
The median net worth of an average US household is US$97,300. Dividing that number into US$67.3 billion comes to about US$700,000.
8. Zuckerberg’s net worth is greater than the combined gross domestic product of Jordan, Nicaragua, and Barbados.
Jordan's GDP is about US$46.9 billion, Nicaragua's is US$15.4 billion and Barbados’ is US$5.5 billion.
9. He could give every single living person in the United States US$100 — and still have more than half of his US$67.3 billion net worth left over.
The US population is currently 328,938,134, according to the US Census.
Giving every American US$100 would cost Zuckerberg roughly US$32.8 billion.
This article originally appeared on Business Insider.