Meta Platforms shares plummeted yesterday, causing the assets of owner and CEO Mark Zuckerberg to plummet.
Closing the session on April 25, Meta Platforms shares decreased 11%. This caused CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s assets to lose $18 billion. According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, this is the 11th largest daily decrease they have ever recorded among the world’s billionaires.
Zuckerberg’s assets mainly come from Meta shares. He currently owns 157 billion USD. This causes the Meta boss to step back to the position of the 4th richest person on the planet, making room for Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Musk yesterday had an additional 5.8 billion USD thanks to Tesla shares going up. He currently owns 184 billion USD. Earlier this month, Zuckerberg surpassed Musk, richer than Musk for the first time since 2020. Since the beginning of the year, he has an additional 29 billion USD.
Meta shares plunged yesterday after the company said second-quarter revenue may be lower than analysts’ forecasts. The company also raised its investment forecast in new AI products and artificial intelligence support infrastructure this year, to 96-99 billion USD. Spending levels may continue to increase next year.
In recent months, Zuckerberg has said artificial intelligence is a priority for the company. They turned their focus to this technology after OpenAI launched ChatGPT chatbot in 2022, creating a global artificial intelligence fever.
However, this information makes investors worried. Meta’s bet on artificial intelligence may take years to pay off. However, the actual decrease yesterday was lower than the 15% level in the April 24 after-hours trading session.
Since the beginning of the year, this stock has increased 25%. Over the past month, this code has continuously approached its historical peak, partly thanks to investors’ excitement about AI technology. Facebook’s capitalization is currently about 1,120 billion USD.