Mark Zuckerberg is now the second-richest person on earth. That change happened on Monday, June 2, when Meta’s stock price surged by nearly 4%, triggering an $8 billion increase in his net worth.
The jump followed reports that Meta is developing a full suite of AI tools tailored for advertisers. Investors clearly liked what they heard. By the end of trading, Meta shares had gained $23.41, closing at $670.90, far outpacing the S&P 500, which rose by just 0.4%.
Zuckerberg’s new total, according to Forbes, is $231.6 billion. That places him squarely in second place on the global billionaires’ list, nudging Amazon’s Jeff Bezos down a notch. Elon Musk still leads, with a net worth of $420.6 billion, despite shedding $2.1 billion the same day.
To put this in perspective: Jeff Bezos added $1.5 billion on Monday. Oracle’s Larry Ellison gained nearly $1 billion. Steve Ballmer inched forward by $359 million. Meanwhile, others saw red. Bernard Arnault and his family lost $2.9 billion.
Google’s Larry Page and Sergey Brin slipped by $2 billion and $1.9 billion respectively. It was a mixed day for billionaires, but Zuckerberg emerged the biggest winner.
Meta’s renewed focus on artificial intelligence is a calculated pivot. While the company has poured years, and billions, into its metaverse project, returns have been elusive. Now, it appears Mark Zuckerberg is betting on a more immediate driver of growth: AI. And it’s paying off.
He still owns around 13% of Meta and controls its decision-making through a dual-class share structure. Despite years of issues over privacy, content moderation, and monopolistic practices, Meta remains strong, with Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp reaching billions of users daily.
It’s also worth remembering: in 2015, he and his wife Priscilla Chan committed to giving away 99% of their Meta holdings during their lifetimes through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
The Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List updates constantly, reflecting the unbalanced nature of tech wealth. Seven of the top ten fortunes are still rooted in technology. And as this week proves, one product announcement, or even a rumour of one, can dramatically shift the order.
