Mark Zuckerberg has cashed on Meta’s stock hitting a series of all-time highs this year.
The cofounder and CEO of Meta, owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, sold shares in the company over the last year worth more than $2.2 billion, according to a Fortune analysis of disclosures for each sale. So far in December alone, Zuckerberg has sold $153.2 million worth of shares, the analysis found. The sales and their value were confirmed by Equilar, a firm that provides data on executives and compensation.
Meta’s stock this year has risen 82% to $630, an all time high. And the company has reached a market capitalization exceeding $1 trillion, joining a rarefied club with the likes of Apple and Amazon. While Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have publicly promised to give away most of their wealth during their lifetimes, much of this work happens through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the couple’s philanthropic organization that offers grants and investments now largely focused on science and related research. It's not a traditional charity, and is instead structured as what’s referred to as a “philanthrocapitalism” organization.
Last year, Zuckerberg sold more than $400 million worth of Meta stock. This followed a two-year selling hiatus during which the company’s share price fell sharply amid the CEO’s efforts to shift the company’s focus to the metaverse, an idea for an immersive virtual world entered through augmented and virtual reality devices and programs that has never been fully realized. This period also saw the number of Facebook users decline for the first time, alongside a dip in advertising revenue after Apple let users of its devices opt-out of app-tracking, impacting Meta’s ability to sell digital ads.
His sale in 2024 of about 4.6 million shares is about four times the number he sold last year, and has so far brought him five times the amount of money. This year, Meta’s focus shifted more toward generative artificial intelligence and slightly more practical wearable devices, like Meta Ray-Bans. Its ad business is again growing each quarter. Zuckerberg is one of the world's richest people, with a current wealth of $223 billion, according to a Bloomberg estimate.
A spokesman for Meta did not respond to emails seeking comment.
Donald Trump has been openly critical of Meta and Zuckerberg, previously referring to the CEO’s various financial giving as “Zuckerbucks” and threatening to put him in prison. Like most major tech executives, Zuckerberg is doing whatever he can to gain Trump's favor. Recently, Zuckerberg joined Trump at his Florida home for dinner while Meta has given a Trump inauguration fund $1 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Over the summer, Zuckerberg wrote a letter to Congress saying he intended to be politically “neutral” and did not want “even appear to be playing a role” in the election. Now that the election is over, Zuckerberg seems to have changed his mind. Such inroads to the next White House may ensure that Meta’s stock soar even higher in the years to come.
Since Trump's election, Meta's stock has gained 10%.
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