Mark Zuckerberg overtakes Bezos as the second richest man in the world

The Meta CEO surpassed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos by $1 billion to take second place on Thursday with a net worth of $206 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He is now behind Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who boasts a net worth of $256 billion.

Zuckerberg’s fortune is largely tied to his 13 percent stake in Meta, and has grown by about $78 billion this year alone thanks to gains in the stock. That’s more than anyone else on the billionaire’s list, including Jensen Huang, the CEO of chipmaker Nvidia.

Meta shares have soared this year, closing at a record high of $582.77 on Thursday. And shares traded even higher at $590 on Friday, up nearly 70% year to date.

In February, Meta shares soared after it announced its first quarterly dividend and a $50 billion share buyback that pleased investors. Since then, Meta stock has benefited from better-than-expected second-quarter sales and the company’s push into AI.

After pouring billions into Zuckerberg’s metaverse vision, the company’s Reality Labs division lost less money than expected in the second quarter. The division has also been asked to cap its spending by 20%, much of which is expected to take place this year. Those cuts, plus a surprise boost from the company’s announcement of upcoming augmented reality glasses dubbed Orion that incorporate the company’s AI, have boosted the company’s stock even more as investors applaud its innovation.

The stock has also seen a boost from Zuckerberg’s push for efficiency and the flattening of the company’s corporate structure over the past few years.

While the gap between Musk and Zuckerberg seems wide, tech fortunes can vary widely, and it’s not inconceivable that the two could trade places in the future. In June, Musk’s net worth was lower than Zuckerberg’s. The Tesla CEO has been in the top spot for years, competing with fellow billionaires Bezos and LVMH’s Bernard Arnault.

Tesla shares have rebounded from the turmoil earlier this year, pushing Musk’s fortune, much of which is tied to his stake in the company. Tesla shares are now about twice the 52-week low they hit in April. Musk’s fortunes were also boosted when Tesla shareholders approved the restoration of a $45 billion pay package for the CEO in June.

While Musk and Zuckerberg compete on the list of richest people, their conflict has also entered the public sphere lately. Last year, Musk challenged mixed martial arts enthusiast Zuckerberg to a cage fight via a post on X. Zuckerberg accepted and was eager to hold the event before Musk backed out.

“If Elon ever gets serious about an actual meeting and an official event, he knows how to contact me,” he wrote in a post on his X site, Threads.

Recommended newsletter
Data sheet: Stay on top of the tech business with close analysis of the industry’s biggest names.
Register here.