American billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of social media behemoth Meta Platforms, has eclipsed Jeff Bezos, the CEO of retailer Amazon, to become the second richest person in the world.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Zuckerberg’s net worth increased by $3.4 billion on Friday to $206 billion, setting a new record for him and putting him second only to Elon Musk, the CEO of electric car manufacturer Tesla ($256 billion).
Bezos came third at $205 billion with a $2.6 billion decline on same day.
Zuckerberg’s wealth has expanded by $78 billion this year, larger than any other billionaire on Bloomberg’s rich list. He owns a 13% stake in Meta.
Meta shares have jumped 68% since the beginning of the year as Zuckerberg’s bet on metaverse paid off. The stock closed Thursday at a new peak of $582.77.
The company, which posted better-than-expected sales in the second quarter, has been focusing on developing AI products. It also launched the Orion augmented reality glasses last month.
