One of the most well-known CEOs is having a rough year, with the stock of the company he founded losing more than half its value since the beginning of 2022.
Here’s a look at how Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and CEO of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), has seen his wealth erode.
What Happened: Zuckerberg, who has a large portion of his wealth tied up to the share price of Meta, has seen his wealth drop by $70 billion, or 57%, to $55.3 billion so far in 2022. He owns around 350 million shares in the company.
His ranking on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index has fallen to the 20th spot (his lowest since 2014) from No. 6 at the beginning of the year.
He has also lost the most in dollar value among the list of wealthiest people in the world.
The amount of wealth lost by Zuckerberg this year is more than the market capitalizations of several well-known companies, including Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER), CSX Corporation (NASDAQ: CSX), Colgate-Palmolive Company (NYSE: CL) and US Bancorp (NYSE: USB).
See Also: Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse Strategies Draw Concerns From VR Developers
Meta Slide: Shares of Meta have been on the tumble since the company reported underwhelming second-quarter results in July, hitting new 52-week lows again this month.
Tough Year: Only three of the 20 richest people in the world have seen their wealth increase in 2022. Through Sept. 14, the top 10 billionaires lost $136.79 billion, in a significant reversal of fortunes seen in 2021.
Why It’s Important: Meta underwent a rebranding last year as it shifted focus to business centered on the metaverse — a shared, decentralized virtual universe running on a blockchain.
Several people have blamed Zuckerberg and his leadership for Meta's poor stock performance.
Bill George, a senior fellow at Harvard Business School, has said Zuckerberg is to blame for the company’s lack of growth.
In his book, “True North: Leading Authentically in Today’s Workplace, Emerging Leader Edition,” George argues that bosses losing sight of values and purpose could be destined to fail.
“I think the wealth went to his head,” George told Yahoo Finance recently. “I think Facebook is not going to do well as long as he’s there. He’s likely one of the reasons so many people are turning away from the company.”
Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen had named Zuckerberg as a key sticking point for the company’s lack of recovery, saying he should step down and be replaced with new leadership.
Musician Grimes has also said Zuckerberg was not the right person to run the metaverse, saying he is “underqualified” to launch the project. She also panned Zuckerberg’s Metaverse avatar as “bad art” and said independently developed games had better artwork.
Price Action: Meta Platforms shares closed at $146.09 on Tuesday versus a 52-week range of $144.33 to $360.04, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
Related Link: Upland, The Layer-1 Metaverse That Allows You To Mint And Own Properties That Mirror The Real Worl
