Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg Outleaps Warren Buffett To Become The World’s 3rd Richest Person
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s co-founder has overtaken Warren Buffett to become the world’s 3rd richest person, further solidifying technology as the most robust creator of wealth. Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index reported that Facebook’s shares climbed 2.4% in July 6.
Zuckerberg trails only Amazon.com Inc fonder Jeff Bezos and Microsoft’s Bill Gates. It is the first time that the 3 wealthiest people on the ranking made their fortunes from technology. Zuckerberg, 34, is now worth US $81.6bn, about US$373mil more than Buffett, the 87-year-old chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Zuckerberg’s steady rise has been driven by investor’s continuous embrace of Facebook, the social-network giant that shook off the fallout from a data-privacy crisis that harmed its shares.
Technology fortunes now make up about a fifth of the more than US$5tril in wealth tracked by the Bloomberg index which is more than any other sector.
Buffett, once the world’s wealthiest person, is plummeting in the ranks due to his charitable giving, which he kicked off earnestly in 2006. He’s donated about 290 million Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares to charity, mostly to the Gate’s foundation. Those shares are now worth more than US$50bil according to the data compiled by Bloomberg.
Zuckerberg has also pledged to give away 99% of his Facebook stock in his lifetime.
Credit: Bloomberg
