Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO and co-founder of Meta, has reached a new peak in wealth, surpassing Bill Gates to become the fourth richest person globally. This significant increase is attributed to a 22% surge in Meta’s stock price, adding $28 billion to Zuckerberg’s net worth, now standing at $165 billion, while Gates holds $124 billion. Forbes ranks only Bernard Arnault, Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos ahead of Zuckerberg in wealth.
Additionally, Zuckerberg is set to receive approximately $174 million in cash when Meta issues its first-ever dividend in March. This windfall is a result of his ownership of around 350 million Class A and B shares, both eligible for the dividend. If Meta maintains its 50-cent quarterly dividend, Zuckerberg could potentially earn over $690 million annually, as reported by CNBC.
Notably, Zuckerberg recently made headlines by joining the critique against Apple’s proposed App Store policies in alignment with the European Union’s (EU) Digital Markets Act (DMA). During Meta’s earnings conference call on February 1, Zuckerberg expressed concerns about the “onerous” and seemingly contradictory rules imposed by Apple, predicting that developers, including Meta, would find it challenging to comply.
The controversy revolves around Apple’s decision to allow third-party app marketplaces on iOS and adjust its App Store fee structure in 27 EU countries starting March 2024. These changes are part of Apple’s efforts to adhere to the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which designated it as one of six “gatekeepers” companies alongside Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, ByteDance, and Microsoft in September 2023.
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