Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune is up by $27.3billion this year, despite growing criticism of his monopoly on social media.
Facebook Inc gained 1.81 percent after reporting an uptick in users in lucrative markets and its third straight rise in quarterly sales growth in October, helping the CEO bring his new total wealth to $79.4billion.
The 35-year-old made Forbes’ top 5 in the list of 500 wealthiest people in the world even though he’d had a tough year.
In October, Zuckerberg testified before the House Financial Services Committee in Washington, DC about concerns regarding his ownership of Whatsapp, Instagram and the Facebook Messenger service.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune is up by $27.3billion this year, despite growing criticism of his monopoly on social media
His new total wealth is $79.4billion and he is the fifth wealthiest person despite growing criticism of his monopoly on social media
His appearance in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill didn’t stop the company ending the quarter with 2.45billion monthly users, up eight percent from earlier in the year.
At least once a month 2.8billion people use one of the brands Zuckerberg owns and advertisers continue to support the company which has controversially refused to fact-check political ads before the 2020 vote because of free speech concerns.
As well as testifying about how his company will handle false and misleading information by political leaders during the 2020 campaign, Zuckerberg, 35, spoke about Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency Libra, and how it handles its users’ data and privacy.
He appeared in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill after being accused of anti-competitive behavior sparking probes by the Federal Trade Commission and 46 state attorneys general over the past couple of years.
In October, Zuckerberg testified before the House Financial Services Committee about concerns regarding his ownership of Whatsapp, Instagram and Facebook
The world’s richest people got even wealthier in 2019, gaining $1.2 trillion between them which amounts to a 25 percent increase
Jeff Bezos remains the richest man in the world with a fortune of $116billion despite his divorce. Bill Gates is the second richest man in the world. He gained $23.1billion in 2019
It was as the world’s richest people got even wealthier, gaining $1.2 trillion between them which amounts to a 25 percent increase.
According to Bloomberg’s Billionaire’s Index, the richest 500 people in the world now have a combined wealth of $5.9 trillion, an increase of almost a quarter since last year.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos topped the list as the richest person in the world, with MIcrosoft founder Bill Gates, Bernard Arnault and Warren Buffet also in the top five.
Bezos lost money in his divorce from his wife of 23 years, MacKenzie, in the summer.
She walked away with a quarter of their combined Amazon shares, worth an estimated $36billion.
But he is now only down $9billion, thanks to an increase in the company’s stock.
Bill Gates’ fortune also rose by $22.7billion.
The biggest gains were enjoyed by Bernard Arnault, who gained $36.5 billion, bringing his total fortune to $106billion.
The revelations are likely to enrage politicians both in the UK and US, where liberals have spent much of the last year calling for tighter controls on how the richest gain and retain wealth.
Presidential hopefuls including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have made it a campaign point to go after the world’s wealthiest.
In the UK, defeated Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn anchored his campaign to the same theme.
There are 173 billionaires in the world, according to the index by Bloomberg.
Among notable additions to this year’s list is Kylie Jenner, who became the youngest self-made billionaire this year through her eponymous beauty line.
The notable losers included Rupert Murdoch, who lost $10billion of his personal fortune by giving it to his children.
WeWork’s embattled former CEO Adam Neumann also saw his prospects plummet when the company went from a $47billion valuation to an $8billion valuation.
WeWork plans to go public next year.
Kylie Jenner became the youngest self-made billionaire at the age of 21. Bernard Arnault gained more money than anyone in 2019, adding $37.7billion to his fortune. he is third on the list
Claiming the fourth spot is 89-year-old American business magnate Warren Buffet
Amancio Ortega (left) takes sixth spot with a fortune of $76.6billion. Larry Page (right) comes in at seventh place with a net worth of $65.2billion
Sergey Brin (left) with a fortune of $63.3billion claiming him 8th spot and in ninth place Charles Koch with a net worth of $62.1billion
Julia Flesher Koch is the only woman in the top ten, taking the 10th spot with a total net worth of $61.1billion