Tech entrepreneur Mark Zuckerberg has become the world's fourth-wealthiest billionaire with a net worth of $201 billion following Facebook's rebrand to Meta and expansions into the metaverse and artificial intelligence hardware.
Facebook's rebrand to Meta
In October 2021, Facebook rebranded to Meta, marking a significant shift for the company. Despite an initial drop in stock from trading in the $300 range to lows of roughly $88 per share in November 2022, Meta is now trading at approximately $567 per share. This stock recovery is attributed to the company's focus on metaverse and artificial intelligence developments.
Meta's business and latest developments
In September 2024, at the Meta Connect event in California, Mark Zuckerberg unveiled the new Orion augmented reality glasses. These glasses feature small projectors that create a virtual heads-up display over objects in the real world. Additionally, he announced the new, cheaper Quest 3S virtual reality headset. Despite the significant rise in Meta's stock prices, the company reduced its metaverse budget by 20% in July 2024 and reported $60 billion in losses for its Reality Labs division since 2019.
Shift to artificial intelligence
Mark Zuckerberg is positioning Meta to grow its AI business. He announced the release of the first frontier-level open-source AI model and continued development of Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses. These plans were discussed during an earnings call with investors on July 31.
The rebrand of Facebook to Meta and subsequent focus on metaverse and artificial intelligence have led to significant changes in the company's earnings and valuation. Thanks to these developments, Mark Zuckerberg has become the fourth-wealthiest billionaire in the world.
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