Mark Zuckerberg made $28 billion this morning as Meta stocks soar to record levels

new york
CNN
—

Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth increased by more than $28 billion between his morning coffee and his lunch break.

Meta’s founder and CEO is already worth more than $140 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, but he has liquidated. This comes as Meta’s stock price soared over the past day after the company announced its first-ever cash dividend program.

On Friday, Meta (META) stock price rose to 20 on the news that a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share will be paid on March 26 to shareholders listed on the shareholder registry as of February 22. soared more than %.

Zuckerberg owns about 350 million shares of the company, according to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Unless Mr. Zuckerberg sells or buys more stock, assuming the quarterly dividend remains at the same level, Mr. Zuckerberg will earn about $700 million annually from the company’s dividends.

While dividends please shareholders because they reward investors for simply owning the stock, they are also widely used in that they artificially inflate stock prices without spending on employees or improving the underlying business. has been criticized.

The rally weighed on the potential damage to Meta stock after Zuckerberg, along with other social media company heads, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday about the risks that Meta’s products pose to young people. It is made even stronger.

Mr. Zuckerberg was pressed about: Internal meta documents suggest the company estimates the lifetime value of a teenage user at $270, and also include meta transparency about how user data is monetized.

Zuckerberg apologized to parents in attendance who said their children had been victims of social media.

“I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through,” he said. “No one should have to go through what your family has gone through, which is why we are investing so much and working across the industry to ensure that no one goes through what your family has gone through. I plan to continue working on this.”