Mark Zuckerberg, the 34-year-old co-founder of social media giant Facebook, is now the world's third-richest person, overtaking business magnate and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet in the ranking.
Facebook Shares Climb 2.4 Percent
Zuckerberg, who is just behind Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, jumped ahead of Buffett on Friday as shares of his social media company climbed by 2.4 percent.
Zuckerberg now has a net worth of $81.6 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him $373 million richer than 87-year-old Buffett.
Zuckerberg's rise in the ranking has been driven by investors who continued to embrace Facebook despite a data-privacy crisis that caused the company's shares to slide to an eight-month low of $152.22 on March 27.
Facebook Data Breach Scandal
Facebook received major backlash earlier this year following reports that the data of millions of its users were breached and improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica. Zuckerberg had to face Congress and take full-page newspaper ads to apologize for the data privacy scandal as the #DeleteFacebook movement emerged.
"You may have heard about a quiz app built by a university researcher that leaked Facebook data of millions of people in 2014," the ads signed by Zuckerberg read. "This was a breach of trust, and I'm sorry we didn't do more at the time. "
Facebook appears to have made it through its worst storm to date, though. Facebook's stock closed at a record $203.23 per share on Friday.
Tech Titans
Zuckerberg's ascent in the ranking solidifies technology as the most robust creator of wealth today, as well as marks the first time that the three richest person alive are all tech titans.
Technology-based fortunes make up about a fifth of more than $5 trillion worth of wealth tracked by Bloomberg index, which tracks the 500 richest people in the world.
Buffet himself has also bet on tech. Berkshire Hathaway purchased about 75 million shares of Apple stocks early this year in addition to the 165 million shares that it already had. Apple is now one of Berkshire's largest holdings.
Charity Giving
Buffett, who is once the world's richest person, slid in the ranking largely because of his charitable giving. The legendary investor has donated about 290 million Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares to charities, most of which went to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Those shares are now worth over $50 billion. Zuckerberg also pledged to donate 99 percent of his Facebook stock.
Photo: JD Lasica | Flickr
