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21st Sep 2022

Mark Zuckerberg has lost more than half his fortune this year

Charlie Herbert

Facebook’s rebrand into Meta has been dreadful for the company

Mark Zuckerberg has fallen down a ranking of the world’s wealthiest people after losing half his fortune – get the violins out.

The Meta owner has plummeted to 20th place on Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, leaving him in 14th place on the index, his lowest position since 2014.

Zuckerberg’s wealth has dropped by a staggering $71bn this year, leaving him with a pitiful net worth of just $55.9bn.

At his peak wealth, the Zuck was worth $142bn.

Bloomberg revealed what may have prompted the 38-year-old’s drop down the list, pointing the finger at Facebook’s recent rebrand as Meta and how this has not reaped rewards for Zuckerberg.

The outlet said it has been “largely downhill from there” for the company since its rebrand, and that Meta is “‘struggling to find its footing in the tech universe.”

They went as far to describe Meta’s recent earning reports as “dismal.”

Earlier this year, Facebook lost hundreds of millions following the rebrand.

Laura Martin, senior internet analyst at Needham & Co, said that Zuckerberg’s company’s stock is being “dragged down” by investments in the metaverse and “has to get these users back from TikTok.”

Martin also said Meta is “hampered by excessive regulatory scrutiny and intervention.”

For months now, Zuckerberg has made clear his intentions to drag the world into the metaverse – a virtual reality where people can game, work and communicate with each other using avatars.

But each announcement and reveal about his vision has been largely met with ridicule.

Last month, he shared a photo of his metaverse avatar and was roundly mocked for its shoddy appearance.

This prompted the businessman to release a statement addressing concerns over the metaverse’s graphics.

He said: “Major updates to Horizon and avatar graphics coming soon […] I know the photo I posted earlier this week was pretty basic – it was taken very quickly to celebrate a launch.

“The graphics in Horizon are capable of much more – even on headsets – and Horizon is improving very quickly.”

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