Zuckerberg loses $3 bn in a week as tech titans fall

Mark Zuckerberg is the 22nd richest person on Earth with a $27-billion fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index

Mark Zuckerberg, the 29-year-old co-founder of Facebook Inc, lost $3.1 billion this week amid a decline in bank and technology stocks.

The world's largest social network plummeted 11 per cent after the company announced it would buy virtual-reality firm Oculus VR Inc for at least $2 billion. Zuckerberg is the 22nd richest person on Earth with a $27-billion fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Investor concern about the Federal Reserve's schedule for scaling back its bond purchases, Russia's recent annexation of Crimea and possible weakness in first-quarter earnings reports have introduced a "healthy cautiousness" into the market, said John Carey, a portfolio manager at Pioneer Investment Management Inc in Boston, which manages about $200 billion. "With regard to frothy, speculative stocks, some people are saying maybe it's time to take a few chips off the table," Carey said in a phone interview.

The technology-centric Nasdaq 100 Stock Index fell 2.2 per cent during the week while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 0.5 per cent to close at 1,857.62 in New York.

Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page lost a combined $3 billion as the world's largest Internet search engine prepares to issue 330 million nonvoting C Class shares next week to cement the founders' control of the company.

The fortune of Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon.com Inc, fell $1.9 billion after the world's largest online retailer announced it would cut prices for cloud services on Wednesday, a day after Google cut its prices. The new prices go into effect on April 1 for both Amazon and Google.

Tesla Motors Inc. Chairman Elon Musk, whose fortune ballooned to $12 billion in late February, lost $634 million this week as the electric carmaker tumbled seven per cent. The Palo Alto-based company announced it will add new battery shields underneath its Model S electric-powered sedans. US regulators ended on Wednesday a four-month investigation into fires that occurred after the cars struck road debris.

The technology sector's performance this week was punctuated by the initial public offering of King Digital Entertainment Plc. Shares of the Candy Crush gamemaker tumbled almost 20 per cent in three days of trading. The drop was the worst of any US public offering since textbook-renter Chegg Inc. slumped 23 per cent in mid-November. King's collapse cost its Chairman Melvyn Morris $157 million, according to the Bloomberg index.

Larry Ellison, the 69-year-old founder of Oracle Corp, added $1.7 billion to his net worth, making him the week's biggest gainer. The world's largest database company advanced 5.5 per cent, its biggest weekly jump since December. Ellison is ranked 8th in the world with a $44.3 billion fortune.

Bill Gates remains the world's richest person with a net worth of $79 billion. Gates is followed by Mexico's Carlos Slim, who has a $65.5 billion fortune, and Spain's Amancio Ortega, who has a net worth of $63.8 billion.