Everyone has a bad day. But on a bad day, Mark Zuckerberg lost $22.1 billion.

When they say that everything happens very quickly in the world of technology, there are those who think they are talking about the pace of innovation (and that too). However, speed also affects the finances of those promoting this technology.

Last week, without moving on, Mark Zuckerberg woke up one day with a net worth of $22.1 billion less than the day before. When you’re having a bad day, remember good old Zuckerberg.

It’s not enough to win, you need to convince

This dramatic turn in Zuckerberg’s fortunes came after Meta reported its first quarter results. The data showed that while it beat estimates, it did not convince investors of the company’s future growth.

Meta recorded a profit of $36.46 billion in the first quarter of 2024, beating the company’s expectations of $36.14 billion. This represents growth by 27% compared to the same period last year.

This figure in any other context would be cause for celebration. However, investors have enjoyed several months of impressive growth in Meta prices, making Mark Zuckerberg the world’s fourth-richest person, ahead of the immovable Larry Ellison, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates.

The millionaire has fallen out of the top 10 millionaires on the Forbes list in 2022, drowned by the black hole of money that has become the metaverse. That’s when Zuckerberg pivoted and refocused Meta’s strategy on artificial intelligence.

This strategic change was a turning point in Meta’s share price, restoring investor confidence. The company’s shares began a rally that sent the share price soaring above 21%. Nothing like this has been recalled since Meta’s actions in July 2013. they were overvalued by 29.6% in one session.

At the end of the year, Mark Zuckerberg took advantage of this bullish trend to unload some shares, earning a total of $765 million. Something that hasn’t happened since 2018, and which he took advantage of to treat himself and buy a yacht almost as big as Jeff Bezos’ Cora.

Following the presentation of results that did not enthuse Meta investors, the stock suffered a 13% collapse, causing Mark Zuckerberg’s estimated net worth to fall by more than $22.1 billion in a matter of hours.

Despite the colossal collapse in the price of Meta shares, the millionaire retains fourth position with fortune of 151.2 billion dollars, he is preceded by Jeff Bezos with a fortune of 193.3 billion dollars and a recovered Elon Musk, who again regains second position on the list with a fortune of 199.6 billion after the financial collapse of Tesla.

In the first position and far from the vagaries of technology, Frenchman Bernard Arnault retains leadership, strengthening his fortune at $209.4 billion.

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Image | Wikimedia Commons (TechCrunch)