Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s total wealth has sharply declined in just 13 months by more than $100 billion.
The latest report of earnings finds that his fortune has dipped $11 billion, Bloomberg reported.
Zuckerberg’s net-worth plunge stands out on the list of the most wealthy people in the world as the steepest, going from $142 billion in September 2021 to now $38.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires index.
The second consecutive drop in Meta revenue equates to 4.5% less than a year ago, and the company has not reported dropping sales before 2022. After two straight quarters of declining revenue, the last three months of the year point to a similar trend as traced by analysts.
This year alone, stock has plummeted 61%. Facebook’s parent company has seen a fall in market value by $677 billion in 2022 as well, which removes it from the ranks of the 20 largest United States companies.
“I think we’re going to resolve each of these things over different periods of time,” Zuckerberg said. “And I appreciate the patience and I think that those who are patient and invest with us will end up being rewarded.”
As the social media platform explores investments in virtual reality, and its metaverse, those costs are only climbing. The pivot comes in light of a change in Apple Inc.’s privacy policy, which renders social media ads less effective for Meta’s strategy.
Meta’s shares opened 25% lower Thursday in New York, with a stock price of $100, which falls low on the record of Meta’s stock — the lowest since 2016. At peak price, the company sees stock payments of $382.
Zuckerberg owns more than 350 million shares in Meta as reported by the company’s most recent proxy statement. While once the Meta leader trailed Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Microsoft’s Bill Gates, landing at third place on the Bloomberg wealth index, he now ranks 23rd, falling 20 slots.
Facebook changed its name to Meta a year ago.