Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is one of the wealthiest people on the planet with a net worth of over $76 billion. You wouldn’t have guessed he was that rich just from looking at the way he lives, though.
The 36-year-old internet entrepreneur isn’t one to post photos of him with luxurious cars, fancy clothes, or exotic travels on social media. And that’s saying a lot as he owns two of the largest social networking platforms, Facebook and Instagram, where people often flex their material possessions.
To give you a better sense of the enormity of Zuckerberg’s fortune, here are some shocking facts you’ve probably never heard about him before.
Living on a $1 Salary
Although the billionaire once received a reported salary of $770,000, as the CEO of Facebook, he slashed the amount down to just a dollar. It’s worth noting though that despite this low salary, he does receive compensation in various other forms as he remains to be the owner of 17% shares in Facebook. That may not be the majority stake, but that slice of the company amounts to billions as the social network is valued at $655 billion, according to Macrotrends.
Net Worth Over the Years
Before Facebook went public, Zuckerberg had a net worth of $13.5 billion in 2011. That only grew larger and larger each year as he added about $9 billion to his wealth annually.
And while his fortune does experience some fluctuations, as it is tied to Facebook stock, Zuckerberg has cemented a spot in the top 10 wealthiest people list year in and year out.
After being booted down to the 8th spot on Forbes’ list in 2019, he has reportedly bounced back to claim the fifth spot once again.
Degrees and Fortunes
It’s a well-known fact that Zuckerberg left Harvard University to pursue his now-widely successful idea. Luckily, his risk paid off big time.
The average man with a bachelor’s degree will earn around $2.2 million throughout their entire lifetime. It would only take the Facebook CEO an hour-and-a-half to earn that same sum.
Larger than GDPs
Another way to demonstrate the enormity of Zuckerberg’s wealth is by comparing it to the gross domestic product (GDP) of countries like Jordan, Barbados, and Nicaragua. Actually, the billionaire’s net worth is larger than the combined GDPs of these three nations.