Zuckerberg has lost more than half his fortune in a year

Mark Zuckerberg’s pivot into the metaverse has cost him dearly in the real world.

Even in a rough year for just about every US tech titan, the wealth erased from the chief executive officer of Meta Platforms stands out.

His fortune has been cut in half and then some, dropping by US$71 billion (NZ$119 billion) so far this year, the most among the ultrarich tracked by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. At US$55.9 billion, his net worth ranks 20th among global billionaires, his lowest spot since 2014 and behind three Waltons and two members of the Koch family.

It was less than two years ago when Zuckerberg, 38, was worth US$106 billion and among an elite group of global billionaires, with only Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates commanding bigger fortunes. His wealth swelled to a peak of US$142 billion in September 2021.

The following month, Zuckerberg introduced Meta and changed the company’s name from Facebook. And it’s been largely downhill from there.

Its recent earnings reports have been dismal. It started in February, when the company revealed no growth in monthly Facebook users, triggering a historic collapse in its stock price and slashing Zuckerberg’s fortune by

US$31 billion, among the biggest one-day declines in wealth ever.

Other issues include Instagram’s bet on Reels even though it’s worth less in advertising revenue, while the industry overall has been affected by lower marketing spending.

The stock is also being dragged down by the company’s investments in the metaverse, said Laura Martin, senior internet analyst at Needham & Co.

– Nine