Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is an American corporate mogul, internet pioneer, and philanthropist born on May 14, 1984.
He is most known for co-founding the social media platform Facebook and Meta Platforms, which owns it (formerly known as Facebook, Inc.), and for which he currently serves as chairman, chief executive officer, and controlling shareholder.
Mark Zuckerberg: Profile Summary
Full Name: Mark Elliot Zuckerberg
Date of birth: May 14, 1984
Age: 38 years old
Place of birth: White Plains, New York, United States
Nationality: American
Education: Havard University (dropped out)
Profession: Internet Entrepreneur, Philanthropist
Active Years: 2004- present
Spouse: Priscilla Chan (m. 2012)
Children: 2
Relatives: Randi Zuckerberg (sister), Donna Zuckerberg (sister)
Net Worth: 61.5 billion USD
Mark Zuckerberg: Early Life and Education
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg, the son of dentist Edward and psychiatrist Karen Zuckerberg, was born in White Plains, New York, on May 14, 1984.
He was raised in a Reform Jewish home in Dobbs Ferry, New York, together with his three sisters, Arielle, Randi, an entrepreneur, and Donna, a writer.
His great-grandparents came to America as Jewish immigrants from Poland, Germany, and Austria. He transferred from Ardsley High School to Phillips Exeter Academy after his senior year. He led the fencing squad as captain.
Mark Zuckerberg: Career Highlight
In 2002, Zuckerberg enrolled at Harvard University after graduating from Phillips Exeter School. On February 4, 2004, he launched thefacebook.com, a directory where fellow Harvard students entered their own details and photos into a template he had created.
In 2005, the site was renamed Facebook. The majority of the student body joined up in just two weeks. Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes, Zuckerberg’s flatmates, assisted him in expanding the site’s functionality and opening it up to other colleges across the nation.
As registered users could build profiles, add images and other media, and stay in touch with friends, Facebook soon gained popularity.
Nonetheless, it was distinct from other social networking sites in that it placed a strong focus on “trusted connections,” also known as genuine names (and email addresses).
Facebook also placed a strong focus on networking, with information being shared not only with each person’s network of friends but also with friends of friends—or what Zuckerberg referred to as the “social graph”—who are friends of friends.
The group relocated to Palo Alto, California, in the summer of 2004, when Zuckerberg persuaded venture capitalist Peter Thiel to provide them with early funding.
Zuckerberg left Harvard to focus on the startup business, where he later rose to the positions of CEO and president.
Facebook received its first significant influx of venture financing ($12.7 million) in May 2005. After four months, high school students were able to sign up for Facebook.
By September 2006, anyone with an email address could join a regional network based on where they lived as overseas institutions and universities started to sign up as well.
Around that time, Zuckerberg rejected a $1 billion buyout offer from Yahoo!, but in 2007, Facebook reached an agreement with the software giant in which Microsoft paid $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in the social media platform; two years later, Digital Sky Technologies paid $200 million for a 1.96 percent stake.
The estimated value of Zuckerberg in 2008 was $1.5 billion. Zuckerberg’s net worth was estimated to be over $19 billion following Facebook’s first public offering (IPO) of stock in 2012.
Facebook announced in October 2021 that its parent business will now be known as Meta Platforms. The “metaverse,” in which users would interact in virtual reality surroundings, was highlighted by the name change.
Mark Zuckerberg: Net Worth
Mark Zuckerberg has an estimated net worth of 61.5 billion USD as of 2023.
