Zuckerberg slips to fifth on rich list as Meta shares plunge on AI plan

Meta's stock fell 11%, the most since 2022, after it said to issue the biggest investment-grade bond offering of the year to boost spending on AI research, dropping Zuckerberg's net worth

By Dylan Sloan

 

Mark Zuckerberg fell to fifth place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index — the lowest in nearly two years — as investors spooked by Meta Platforms Inc.’s planned $30 billion debt sale sent the company’s shares spiraling amid a flurry of tech earnings shaking up the ranks of the world’s richest. 

Meta’s stock fell 11 per cent — the most since 2022 — after the company said it was going to issue the biggest investment-grade bond offering of the year to boost spending on artificial intelligence research, dropping Zuckerberg’s net worth to $235.2 billion, according to the wealth index.

 

He was leapfrogged by Amazon.com Inc.’s Jeff Bezos and Alphabet Inc.’s Larry Page, who hadn’t been among the four-richest people since October 2023. Alphabet’s shares climbed 2.5 per cent after it reported revenue that beat analysts’ expectations amid a surge in demand for its cloud and AI services.

 

Zuckerberg’s $29.2 billion drop was the fourth-largest one-day market-driven decline ever recorded by Bloomberg’s wealth index.

 

Meta’s stock had gained 28 per cent this year before Thursday’s swoon, adding $57 billion to Zuckerberg’s fortune. But doubts over Meta’s ballooning AI budget gave investors pause, with at least two analysts downgrading the company’s shares after it said it expected to spend up to $118 billion in capital expenditures this year and possibly more in 2026.

 

Amazon shares have gained more than 30 per cent since a mid-April low. Investors have cheered its cloud-computing unit, which has steadily grown as it has signed splashy deals with AI firms including Anthropic. The company reported third-quarter sales and profit that topped estimates, sending shares surging in after-hours trading.