What Companies Does Mark Zuckerberg Own?

We all know about Mark Zuckerberg’s meteoric rise from university student to becoming one of the world’s youngest self-made billionaires at just 23. His story, made famous by the 2010 Aaron Sorkin film The Social Network, is closely intertwined with his creation, Facebook.

Zuckerberg founded the social media phenomenon in 2004 while he was still a student at Harvard University. Initially, membership was limited to Harvard students, and by the end of its first month, over half of the school’s undergraduate student body had registered on “thefacebook.com.”

The site went on to gain traction at other universities, and by the end of 2005, the company dropped “the” from its name and recorded 6 million users. Facebook eventually opened its site to the general public in September 2006, and the rest is history.

The social media site has fueled Zuckerberg’s fortune via its advertising revenue, and as of November 12, 2021, his net worth was $121 billion, making him the 3rd-richest person in the world.

Zuckerberg is synonymous with Facebook, but what else does the tech mogul own?

Meta

Meta (née Facebook, Inc.) is the parent company for most of Zuckerberg’s ventures. He curently owns about 12% of the company's stock.

The company adopted a Meta as its new name in November 2021, citing Facebook’s future in the metaverse, a series of interconnected digital spaces where users can interact using augmented and virtual reality technology. The name change also came at a convenient time as Facebook had run into some significant regulatory and PR issues related to its platform’s content moderation policies and its alleged role in spreading misinformation.

In September 2018, Facebook, Inc.’s virtual reality (VR) hardware and software subsidiary Oculus was dissolved and absorbed into Facebook Technologies, which includes other in-house hardware like its lineup of Portal smart displays. Oculus as a brand will officially be phased out in 2022 as part of Facebook’s rebrand to Meta. Oculus hardware will fall under the Meta brand, while all immersive social experiences will fall under the Horizon brand.

Below we have highlighted some of Meta's most important acquisitions and subsidiaries.

• Facebook is the crown jewel of Meta’s holdings as the social media platform enjoys global brand recognition with over 2.85 billion monthly active users as of March 31, 2021. Facebook’s app, led by Tom Alison, and website allow users to post and share text, photos, and multimedia with other users. Facebook’s users can also join common-interest groups and communicate directly with other users via its Messenger communications platform. In recent years, Facebook has fleshed out the functionality of its platform with a peer-to-peer e-commerce offering called Marketplace, a dating service, and a News tab.

• Facebook Connectivity is a partnership between Meta and connectivity companies like Samsung, Ericsson, MediaTek, Opera Software, Nokia, and Qualcomm to expand affordable internet access in underserved areas. The project launched as Internet.org in August 2013 and now offers several connectivity infrastructure solutions in addition to its Free Basics and Discover consumer services.

• Instagram is Meta's photo and video-focused social media app. Facebook, Inc. acquired the company in 2012, just two years after its inception, for around $1 billion in cash and stock. Instagram’s co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger stayed on with the company after the acquisition as CEO and Head of Engineering; however, both have now exited the company. Adam Mosseri currently leads the photo and video sharing social network with an estimated 1.4 billion users.

• WhatsApp is Meta's instant messaging and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service and is led by Will Cathcart. Facebook, Inc. acquired the company in February 2014 for approximately $19 billion. In January 2018, WhatsApp released a WhatsApp Business, a standalone app that allows companies to communicate with customers on WhatsApp. As of February 2020, WhatsApp has over 2 billion global users.

• Novi is Meta's foray into the world of fintech. The initiative is led by David Marcus and is a digital wallet meant to allow users to send and store Facebook's Diem digital currency. The company launched Novi in the US and Guatemala in October 2021 without Diem as part of a small pilot program. Using Novi, users in the two countries can send and hold Paxos stablecoin in partnership with Coinbase, which serves as the custody partner for the test. At the time of the launch, Marcus said the pilot program will test Novi's core feature functions and operational capabilities in customer care and compliance.

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is a philanthropic foundation created in December 2015 by Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan. The organization is supported by duo’s wealth generated from the 99% of Facebook shares they plan to sell over their lifetime. The group has four focus areas — Science, Education, Community, and Justice & Opportunity. From 2015 to 2020, CZI committed $2.7 billion in grants, made over $150 million in investments, and distributed more than $3 million in personal charitable giving from CZI employees matched or funded by CZI’s Live the Mission benefit.

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