Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, has now taken the place of the third-richest person in the world. The spot had previously been held by Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
World’s Third Richest Person
Despite the controversy surrounding Facebook in recent years, Mark Zuckerberg has still managed to climb to the position of the third-richest person on the planet. The Facebook co-founder and CEO overtook Warren Buffett the chairman and chief executive officer at Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
The only two people in the world who are richer than Zuckerberg, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, are Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, and Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft Corp.
Technology Takeover
On Friday, Facebook’s shares climbed by 2.4 percent, sending Zuckerberg’s personal worth higher than Buffett’s. This shift has meant that the three richest people in the world have all earned their places there through the technology industry.
This represents the first time that tech has taken over the top three spots among the richest billionaires in the world.
The 34 year-old social media giant CEO was estimated to be worth $82.1 billion as of the writing of this article, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This places him only slightly ahead of 87 year-old Buffett, whose personal worth is nearly tied with Zuckerberg’s.
Buffett’s ranking on the list has been gradually sliding downward due to his widespread charitable contributions. In 2006, he launched a personal philanthropic effort.
Since that time, he has donated 290 million Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares – currently holding a total value of about $50 billion – to various causes, primarily consisting of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The notably younger Zuckerberg intends to gradually donate his own Facebook stock throughout his lifetime, until he has given away 99 percent.
Investors Still Love Facebook
Zuckerberg has managed to climb the list as investors still cling to Facebook. The social network had been suffering during its data privacy scandal and related crisis.
This period slammed the company’s shares, forcing them down to an eight-month low near the end of March. However, since then, the share prices have recovered, striking a new record high last week at $203.23.
At the moment, tech fortunes are estimated to comprise approximately one fifth of the over $5 trillion in wealth tracked by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This is a larger amount than any other sector represented on the list of the five hundred richest people in the world.