99 Trillion Won Evaporated This Year... The Fall of Zuckerberg

Meta Stock Plummets, Net Assets Fall to Levels Seen 8 Years Ago

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta (Photo by Bloomberg)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta (formerly Facebook), the world's largest social media company, has seen his assets decrease by nearly 99 trillion won this year. His billionaire ranking also slipped 14 places, returning to the level of eight years ago. This is a result of Meta's stock plummeting amid worsening core business performance and growing market concerns over new ventures.

According to Bloomberg on the 19th (local time), Zuckerberg's net worth decreased by $71 billion (approximately 99 trillion won) as of the closing price on the 16th this year, marking the largest loss among billionaires tracked by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

His net worth now stands at $55.9 billion, down to nearly one-third compared to the peak of $142 billion in September last year. Consequently, his global billionaire ranking dropped 14 places to the 20s, the lowest since 2014.

Zuckerberg's net worth, heavily concentrated in Meta stock, evaporated by $71 billion this year as Meta shares plunged. This loss is significant even compared to other tech giants during the same period, such as Amazon founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos ($46 billion), Google co-founders Larry Page ($34 billion) and Sergey Brin ($33 billion).

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Meta and other major U.S. big tech stocks soared. Online advertising demand surged due to expanded non-face-to-face consumption, and core business performances of big tech companies skyrocketed.

Meta, which rapidly expanded, has been on a steep decline since changing its name from Facebook. Meta's stock has plummeted 57% this year, a much larger drop compared to other FAANG companies. During the same period, Apple fell 14%, Amazon and Google's parent company Alphabet decreased by 26% and 29%, respectively.

Meta's downfall stems from the poor performance of its key growth driver, the social media business. It lost market dominance as user bases were taken by emerging services like China's TikTok on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Additionally, economic recession led companies to cut marketing budgets, causing sluggish online advertising revenue, Meta's main income source. Internal whistleblowing over neglecting youth protection and promoting violence and hate, along with various regulatory risks, have also alienated investors.

Laura Martin, senior analyst at Needham & Company, pointed out, "Meta needs to regain users from TikTok and recover lost performance, but this is also hindered by external challenges such as government regulations."

In an effort to diversify from its social media-focused business, Meta has heavily invested in new ventures like the 3D virtual world metaverse and cryptocurrencies, but these have yet to materialize in earnings. Meta's metaverse division, Reality Labs, recorded an operating loss of $5.7 billion in the first half of this year. CEO Zuckerberg also stated, "We expect to incur significant losses over the next 3 to 5 years."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.