Mark Zuckerberg Becomes Fourth-richest Person after Meta Shares Rise 60% in 2024

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune has surpassed expectations, breaching the $200 billion mark for the first time, making him the world’s fourth-richest person.

This comes after Meta’s shares have risen 60% since the start of the year, helping his fortune to rise six-fold in two years.

The top three wealthiest people are Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bernard Arnault.

Tech companies have dominated US stock markets since the start of 2024, with Nvidia’s 140% rise this year alone, whose chips are considered the gold standard in artificial intelligence applications, accounting for about a quarter of the S&P 500’s 17% gain.

This year, the index has failed to rise more than 1% on any day Nvidia shares closed lower. In 2020, there were 13 such instances, according to a Reuters analysis conducted in mid-month.

For many investors, the recent moves have revived concerns about a small group of stocks that dictate market direction.

While Nvidia has dominated, tech companies as a whole account for more than 31% of the S&P 500’s relative weighting and have led billionaires to record gains since the start of the year.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Meta Platforms’ Mark Zuckerberg has racked up the biggest gains, with his fortune surging more than $72 billion to surpass $200 billion, the highest level the Facebook founder has reached since joining the list of the world’s 500 richest people.

Only six men, all in the tech sector, have added nearly $300 billion in net worth in less than 10 months.

And of course, Jensen Huang of Nvidia made the list, coming in second with gains of $58 billion, raising his net worth to $102 billion.