When it is said that in the world of technology everything happens very quickly, there are those who think that they are referring to the pace of innovation (which too). However, speed also affects the finances of those who promote this technology.
Last week, without going any further, Mark Zuckerberg woke up one day with $22.1 billion less than the day before. When you’re having a bad day, remember good old Zuckerberg.
It’s not enough to win, you have to convince
This dramatic turn in Zuckerberg’s fortunes came following Meta’s presentation of its first-quarter results. The data reflected that, although they exceeded estimates, they did not convince investors about the company’s future growth.
Meta recorded profits of $36.46 billion during the first quarter of 2024, exceeding expectations of $36.14 billion provided by the company. This represents an increase of 27% compared to the same period of the previous year.
This is a figure that, under any other context, would have been cause for celebration. However, investors were coming off a few months of spectacular growth in Meta’s price, which had elevated Mark Zuckerberg as the fourth largest fortune in the world, surpassing the immovable Larry Ellison, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.
The millionaire had fallen from the top 10 millionaires on the Forbes list in 2022, sunk by the black hole of money that the metaverse had become. It was then that Zuckerberg took a turn and reoriented Meta’s strategy towards artificial intelligence.
This strategic change marked a turning point in Meta’s share price, returning confidence to investors. The company’s shares began an escalation that would skyrocket the share price with values above 21%. Nothing like it was remembered since Meta’s actions in July 2013 they revalued by 29.6% in a single session.
At the end of the year, Mark Zuckerberg took advantage of that bullish trend to get rid of some shares, pocketing a total of $765 million. Something that had not happened since 2018, and that he took advantage of to treat himself and buy a yacht almost as big as Jeff Bezos’ Koru.
After the presentation of results that did not excite Meta investors, the shares experienced a 13% collapse, which caused the valuation of Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune to fall by more than $22.1 billion in a matter of hours.
Despite the monumental collapse in the price of Meta shares, the millionaire retains his fourth position with a fortune of 151.2 billion of dollars, preceded by Jeff Bezos with a fortune of 193.3 billion dollars and a recovered Elon Musk who once again regains second position on the list with 199.6 billion after Tesla’s financial debacle.
In first position, and away from the vagaries of technology, the Frenchman Bernard Arnault maintains his leadership, strengthening his fortune at 209.4 billion dollars.
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Image | Wikimedia Commons (TechCrunch)
