Key Takeaways:
- Mark Zuckerberg becomes the world’s fourth-wealthiest person with a net worth of $201 billion.
- Meta’s market capitalization exceeds $1.4 trillion, making it one of the most valuable companies globally.
- Meta’s stock has increased six-fold since its November 2022 lows, driven by its expansion into metaverse hardware and AI.
Zuckerberg has become the world’s fourth-wealthiest person, with a net worth of $201 billion, following Facebook’s rebrand to Meta in October 2021. Meta’s market capitalization is over $1.4 trillion, making it one of the most valuable companies in the world. The company’s stock has seen a significant increase, trading at approximately $567 per share, a six-fold rise since its November 2022 lows of around $88 per share.
Meta has been expanding into metaverse hardware and artificial intelligence, with half of the world’s 10 most valuable companies, including Apple, Google, Nvidia, and Microsoft, also developing metaverse hardware. Zuckerberg recently unveiled Meta’s Orion augmented reality glasses and the newer, cheaper Quest 3S virtual reality headset.
Despite the growth, Meta reduced its metaverse budget by 20% in July 2024 and instructed its metaverse division Reality Labs to reduce expenses by 20% by 2026. Reality Labs has lost $60 billion since 2019 and posted losses for the second business quarter of 2024. Zuckerberg has stated that Meta aims to grow its AI business by narrowing its focus and increasing investment in AI research.
Title image credits: CC) Brian Solis, www.briansolis.com, bub.blicio.us. Feel free to use this picture. Please credit as shown.