Mark Zuckerberg jumps to 4th place on world's billionaires list

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of Facebook's parent firm, Meta Platforms, jumped to fourth place on the world's billionaires list Friday, as Meta shares soared on strong financial results, according to a tally.

The Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List said Zuckerberg's net worth jumped $27.6 billion, or 19.88% to $167 billion.

It moved Zuckerberg, 39, above Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, investor guru Warren Buffett and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.

He was trailed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who stands in third place with almost $194 billion, and SpaceX, Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk with $198 billion at second.

Bernard Arnault, 74, chairman and CEO of French fashion powerhouse LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, is first with $212 billion.

Zuckerberg's steep climb came after Meta saw its income more than triple to $14 billion in the fourth quarter, according to its financial statement released Thursday.

Revenue increased 25% year-on-year to $40.11 billion, while the company managed to lower costs and expenses by 8%.

With strong results, the stock price of Meta Platforms jumped 20.3% to close Friday at $474.99.

Zuckerberg is estimated to have a 13% stake in Meta.