Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook and chief executive of Meta Platforms, is ranked No. 5 on the Forbes 2026 World’s Billionaires list with a net worth of $222 billion. He became the world’s youngest self-made billionaire in 2008, at age 23.
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg was born on May 14, 1984, in White Plains, New York, to Dr. Edward Zuckerberg, a dentist, and Karen Kempner, a psychiatrist. He was raised in Dobbs Ferry, New York, and attended Phillips Exeter Academy, where he captained the fencing team.
Net Worth and Rank
- Forbes 2026 list: No. 5, with $222 billion
- Later estimate: Wikipedia cites a Forbes estimate of $258 billion as of September 2026
Founding Facebook
Zuckerberg briefly attended Harvard College and launched Facebook there in February 2004 with his roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. He took the company public in May 2012 while keeping majority voting control. He is chairman, CEO and controlling shareholder of Meta Platforms, Facebook’s parent company, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp.
- Youngest self-made billionaire: 2008, at age 23
- Film: The Social Network, based on Facebook’s early years, was released in 2010
Philanthropy
- Giving Pledge: in 2010 he signed it with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, promising to give away at least half his wealth over time
- Chan Zuckerberg Initiative: he established it with his wife, Priscilla Chan
- Other gifts: $25 million to fight Ebola in October 2014 and $75 million to the San Francisco General Hospital foundation in February 2015
Legal and Political Attention
His rapid rise has brought political and legal scrutiny, including lawsuits over the ownership of Facebook and over user privacy, according to Wikipedia.
Why It Matters
Meta’s social networks and messaging apps reach billions of users, and Zuckerberg’s control of the company means major decisions about its direction rest with him.
Net worth figures change daily with share prices. Rankings here follow the Forbes 2026 World’s Billionaires list, with wealth measured on March 1, 2026.
Image: Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook’s F8 conference in 2018. Photo: Anthony Quintano / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
