Mark Zuckerberg
American business executive; cofounder of Facebook and chief executive of Meta Platforms
| Mark Zuckerberg
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 14 5 1984 (age 42 years old (as of 2026)
) United States |
| Occupation | business executive |
| Known for | Cofounder of Facebook; Meta Platforms |
| Education | Harvard University |
Mark Zuckerberg (born 14 May 1984) is an American business executive, cofounder of Facebook and chief executive of Meta Platforms.[1] On 20 October 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Zuckerberg fifth in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$242.0 billion; Forbes gives the source of wealth as Facebook.[2] The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, as reported by Investopedia, put the figure at US$256 billion on 1 October 2026.[3]
Background
Born 14 May 1984 in the United States.[1]
Education
Attended Harvard University; did not graduate.[1]
In its 2018 World's Billionaires profile text, Forbes stated: "A Harvard dropout, he founded Facebook in 2004 at the age of 19."[1]
Career and companies
Started Facebook in 2004; took it public in 2012; renamed Meta in 2021.[1]
How the wealth was made
About 13% of Meta Platforms.[1]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this person in its annual World's Billionaires list in 18 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2008. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list, and, where applicable, the rank and estimate in the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans.[4][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) | Forbes 400 rank | Forbes 400 net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 785 | 1.5 | 321 | 1.5 |
| 2009 | – | – | 158 | 2.0 |
| 2010 | 212 | 4.0 | 35 | 6.9 |
| 2011 | 52 | 13.5 | 14 | 17.5 |
| 2012 | 35 | 17.5 | 36 | 9.4 |
| 2013 | 66 | 13.3 | 20 | 19.0 |
| 2014 | 21 | 28.5 | 11 | 34.0 |
| 2015 | 16 | 33.4 | 7 | 40.3 |
| 2016 | 6 | 44.6 | 4 | 55.5 |
| 2017 | 5 | 56.0 | 4 | 71.0 |
| 2018 | 5 | 71.0 | 4 | 61.0 |
| 2019 | 8 | 62.3 | 4 | 69.6 |
| 2020 | 7 | 54.7 | 3 | 85.0 |
| 2021 | 5 | 97.0 | 3 | 134.5 |
| 2022 | 15 | 67.3 | 11 | 57.7 |
| 2023 | 16 | 64.4 | 8 | 106.0 |
| 2024 | 4 | 177.0 | 3 | 181.0 |
| 2025 | 2 | 216.0 | 3 | 253.0 |
| 2026 | 5 | 222.0 | 6 | 212.0 |
Philanthropy
With Priscilla Chan, pledged in 2015 to give away 99% of their Meta stake over their lifetimes; the couple are spending $3 billion on a goal to cure, prevent or manage all disease by 2100.[1] Foundation-level: the following private foundation figures are taken from the IRS Form 990-PF data published by ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Total assets are as reported at the end of each tax year; "grants paid" is the 990-PF line for contributions, gifts and grants paid.[5]
| Foundation | Tax year | Total assets, end of year | Contributions, gifts and grants paid | Contributions received |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation | 2023 | 6,319.7 | 58.0 | 31.0 |
| Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation | 2022 | 5,412.5 | 342.8 | 0.0 |
| Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation | 2021 | 7,102.4 | 841.5 | 362.5 |
| Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation | 2020 | 6,404.0 | 170.0 | 60.0 |
Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan are listed as Giving Pledge signatories from 2010; their pledge letter on the Giving Pledge site is dated 9 November 2015.[6][7] On 6 November 2025 Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan announced a Biohub initiative combining frontier AI and biology, with Zuckerberg quoted as saying: “we’re going all in on AI-powered biology for our next chapter.”[8]
Political donations and public roles
Itemised contributions recorded by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Totals are lower bounds: only the top 100 records per name and cycle were retrieved, and memo entries are excluded.[9]
| Cycle | Total (US$, lower bound) | Records | Largest recipient committees (as filed with the FEC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $5,000 | 1 | Meta Platforms PAC ($5,000) |
| 2024 | $10,000 | 2 | Meta Platforms PAC ($10,000) |
| 2026 | $5,000 | 1 | Meta Platforms PAC ($5,000) |
In 2020 Chan and Zuckerberg committed a total of $400 million for election administration, through nonprofits including the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL). An AP fact check notes the money went to nonprofit organisations supporting election offices and was not a contribution to any campaign.[10][11]
Lobbying by companies
Company-level: according to Issue One’s analysis of federal lobbying disclosures, Meta spent a record $26.29 million on federal lobbying in 2025.[12]
| Company | 2025 spending | Change from 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Meta | $26.29 million | about 8% higher (record) |
| Alphabet | $16.62 million | nearly 12% higher |
| Microsoft | $10.1 million | 2% lower |
| Nvidia | $4.95 million | up from $640,000 |
| X | $720,000 | unchanged |
Controversies and legal cases
Company-level: on 24 July 2019 the FTC imposed a record $5 billion penalty on Facebook, together with new privacy restrictions, for violating its 2012 FTC order.[13] Company-level: in a final decision of 12 May 2023 (announced 22 May 2023), Ireland’s Data Protection Commission found that Meta Ireland had infringed Article 46(1) of the GDPR in its transfers of personal data to the United States, and imposed an administrative fine of €1.2 billion.[14]
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
In October 2023 Zuckerberg posted on Instagram: “The terrorist attacks by Hamas are pure evil. There is never any justification for carrying out acts of terrorism against innocent people.”[15]
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
China
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
Company-level: Meta was also donating $1 million to President-elect Trump’s inauguration fund (December 2024).[16]
Other international links
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
See also
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Mark Zuckerberg (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/mark-zuckerberg/) Forbes, live record, real-time timestamp 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 20 October 2026 11:51 UTC, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Investopedia, The 10 Richest People in the World (citing Bloomberg Billionaires Index, figures as of 1 Oct 2026) Investopedia, updated 2 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation (EIN 45-5002209) – Nonprofit Explorer record with IRS Form 990-PF financial data ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, IRS filings as processed by ProPublica; accessed 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ The Giving Pledge, Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan – pledger page The Giving Pledge, pledge 2010; letter dated 9 November 2015, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ The Giving Pledge, Pledger list The Giving Pledge, live page, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Biohub, Biohub launches first large-scale scientific initiative combining frontier AI with frontier biology to cure or prevent disease Biohub, 6 November 2025, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ U.S. Federal Election Commission, OpenFEC Schedule A (itemised individual contributions) query, contributor name "ZUCKERBERG, MARK"; 2024 cycle shown in link, the 2022, 2024 and 2026 cycles were queried with the same parameters; top 100 records per name and cycle; compiler filtered by employer/occupation and excluded memo entries from totals U.S. Federal Election Commission, data as filed; queried 20 October 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Center for Tech and Civic Life, Press Release: CTCL Receives Additional $100M Contribution to Support Critical Work of Election Officials Center for Tech and Civic Life, 2020 (undated page), accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Associated Press, Posts misrepresent Mark Zuckerberg’s election spending Associated Press, 4 May 2022, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Issue One, Armies of Lobbyists Helped Big Tech Rack up Victories During First Year of Trump's Second Term Issue One, 21 January 2026, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ U.S. Federal Trade Commission, FTC Imposes $5 Billion Penalty and Sweeping New Privacy Restrictions on Facebook U.S. Federal Trade Commission, 24 July 2019, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Data Protection Commission (Ireland), Data Protection Commission announces conclusion of inquiry into Meta Ireland Data Protection Commission (Ireland), 22 May 2023, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ NDTV, 'Thank You Meta': Israel After Mark Zuckerberg Calls Hamas Attacks 'Pure Evil' NDTV, updated 15 October 2023, accessed 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Associated Press, Amazon to contribute $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund. Meta is also donating $1M Associated Press, 13 December 2024, accessed 20 October 2026.