How Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Makes and Spends His $65 Billion Fortune, from Italian Sports Cars to Millions in Hawaii Real Estate Zuckerberg's wealth has soared. Here's how he spends it.
Key Takeaways
- Mark Zuckerberg is one of the most powerful and wealthiest figures in the world.
- He has a net worth of $67.6 billion, according to Forbes, and spends much of it on charity.
- But he also pours money into real estate, especially in Hawaii, and cars.
This story originally appeared on Business Insider.
Mark Zuckerberg is one of the wealthiest people in the world.
The Meta founder and CEO's fortune surpassed $100 billion last year, making him one of 10 centi-billionaires on the planet. As of June, Zuckerberg's net worth was $101.1 billion, according to Forbes.
Zuckerberg mostly keeps a low profile, but he does splurge on real estate — especially in the tropical paradise that is Hawaii. He and his wife, Priscilla Chan, also invest in childhood education and medical research.
More recently, Zuckerberg accepted a random challenge from Twitter CEO Elon Musk to a "cage match." The Meta CEO is known to participate in jiu-jitsu tournaments and other recreational sports.
Here's how the tech mogul spends his billions, from cars to properties to charity.
Facebook debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in May 2012.
Zuckerberg in New York May 18, 2012. Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
Eight years after its founding, Facebook clocked in the milestone. At the time, it was the biggest technology IPO in history and it sent Mark Zuckerberg's wealth soaring.
Much of Zuckerberg's fortune comes from Meta.
Getty via BI
The exec has a 13% stake in the company, whose parent company is now called Meta.
But he doesn't make a large salary — in fact, his take-home pay is just $1.
But he's fairly low-key.
Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg Bloomberg via Getty Images via BI
Despite his status as one of the richest tech moguls, the 38-year-old Harvard dropout leads a down-to-earth lifestyle with his wife, Priscilla Chan, and their two young daughters.
And he's not a fan of flashy clothes.
Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook Connect 2021 Facebook via BI
Like many other Silicon Valley stalwarts, Zuckerberg doesn't dress in flashy suits — he keeps things simple in jeans, t-shirts, and sweaters.
But they're reportedly much more expensive than they look, retailing for hundreds, and even thousands, of dollars.
Neither is he into flashy vehicles.
Zuckerberg in 2012. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images via BI
Zuckerberg is known for driving relatively inexpensive cars. He's been seen in an Acura TSX and a Honda Fit, both of which are valued at or under $30,000.
He loves his signature Volkswagen.
Tony Avelar/AP via BI
He's been spotted driving a black Volkswagen Golf GTI, a car that he bought well after making his fortune. That car would cost about $30,000 new.
Source: Insider
Although he did splurge on a car ...
Mark Zuckerberg and a Pagani Huayra. Not Zuckerberg's actual car. Charles Platiau/Reuters and Norbert Aepli/Wikimedia/CC 2.0
He has dropped serious cash on at least one sports car: an Italian Pagani Huayra that sells for about $1.3 million.
And most recently, he posted some new wheels on Instagram.
Not Zuckerberg's car. John Prieto/The Denver Post via Getty Images via BI
In July, Zuckerberg posted a photo of what appeared to be two refurbished vintage Ford Broncos, one baby blue and one black, with the caption "his and hers." The price is unknown.
He spends money more freely on real estate.
Zillow via BI
In May 2011, he bought a 5,000-square-foot home in Palo Alto for $7 million. He's since tricked it out with a "custom-made artificially intelligent assistant."
Source: San Francisco Chronicle, CNBC
Then he bought up nearby land.
KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / Contributor / Getty via BI
The next year, Zuckerberg began buying the properties surrounding his home, spending more than $30 million to acquire four homes with plans to level them and rebuild.
Source: San Francisco Chronicle, CNBC
He also used to own a townhouse in the Mission District of San Francisco.
San Francisco in 2020. Ahmet Karaman/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images via BI
He bought the 5,500-square-foot home in 2013 and proceeded to make over $1 million in renovations, including adding a greenhouse and remodeling the kitchen.
But in July 2022, he sold it in an off-market sale for $31 million, the biggest residential real estate deal in San Francisco so far this year.
Source: Curbed San Francisco, Business Insider
Then there's Hawaii.
A beach in Kauai. Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images via BI
In 2014, the billionaire's real-estate portfolio jumped the Pacific when he spent $100 million on two properties on the island of Kaua'i: the Kahu'aina Plantation, a 357-acre former sugarcane plantation, and Pila'a Beach, a 393-acre property with a white-sand beach.
But there's been backlash.
A beach in Kauai. Jennifer McDermott/AP via BI
In 2016, Zuckerberg angered neighbors by constructing a 6-foot wall around his property, and in 2017, Zuckerberg filed suit against Hawaiian families who had legal-ownership claims on parcels of land within his property. Though he dropped the suit, residents accused him of "neocolonialism."
Source: Insider
He's adding onto his Hawaii properties too.
Wailua Falls in Kaua'i, Hawaii. Andriy Prokopenko/Getty Images via BI
In March 2021, he spent $53 million on nearly 600 acres of land on Kauai and in December, he purchased 110 more acres of land nearby for $17 million.
Source: Insider
The purchases serve as a respite for the executive.
Facebook via BI
When Zuckerberg is in Hawaii, he appears to spend his time unwinding and enjoying some hobbies. He's been photographed riding a $12,000 electric surfboard in the ocean off Kaua'i and practices shooting arrows and throwing spears on his property.
Zuckerberg made another massive real estate purchase in 2018.
Lake Tahoe. Gado/Getty Images via BI
He shelled out for two lakefront properties on Lake Tahoe, which cost a combined $59 million. One of the houses, called the Brushwood Estate, spans 5,233 square feet on six acres of land. The property features a guest house and a private dock.
Between his two Lake Tahoe properties, Zuckerberg owns about 600 feet of private shoreline on Lake Tahoe's west shore. When Zuckerberg buys properties, he tends to buy the other homes surrounding it for privacy reasons, just as he did in Palo Alto.
Zuckerberg doesn't appear to travel much for pleasure.
Zuckerberg this summer. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images via BI
But when he traverses the globe for work, Meta foots the bill: security for Zuckerberg and his family cost the company $23 million in 2020, the company reported.
Source: Insider
Ultimately, opulence and luxury are just a blip on Zuckerberg's radar.
In fact, his main priority seems to be giving his money away, rather than spending it.
Zuckerberg has signed onto the Giving Pledge.
Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg Beck Diefenbach/Reuters via BI
He joined Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and over 200 other millionaires and billionaires who have vowed to donate the majority of their wealth to philanthropy. He plans to sell 99% of his Facebook shares during his lifetime.
Source: Insider
He plans to donate significantly to his and his wife's organization.
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan. Peter Barreras/Invision/AP
Zuckerberg said in September 2017 that he planned to sell 35 to 75 million shares over the following 18 months to fund the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, totaling between $6 billion and $12 billion.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is a philanthropic organization Zuckerberg founded with his wife in 2015 focused on "personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people, and building strong communities." CZI has awarded nearly $3 billion in grants over the years.
CZI is invested in tackling both local and global issues.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images via BI
In 2020, for example, the organization poured $4.2 million into a jobs program for residents of Kaua'i and committed $1 million to help the region battle the coronavirus. CZI has also contributed millions in the last year to causes like criminal justice reform and affordable housing.
The pair have also donated to research.
Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan AP via BI
Zuckerberg and Chan have poured billions into research focused on curing the world's diseases by the end of the century. In order to accomplish this lofty goal, CZI launched a nonprofit called Biohub to start looking into the cure for diseases, including research on genomics, infectious diseases, and implantable devices.
Zuckerberg believes that Biohub will help speed up research to cure disease.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images via BI
He told The New Yorker in 2018 that "we'll basically have been able to manage or cure all of the major things that people suffer from and die from today. Based on the data that we already see, it seems like there's a reasonable shot."
Source: The New Yorker
Zuckerberg's day job is still keeping him busy, however.
Hannah McKay-Pool/Getty Images via BI
In the past couple of years alone, he's testified before lawmakers, attempted to quash coronavirus misinformation on Facebook, and suspended former President Donald Trump from the platform.
Then there were the whistleblowers.
The Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen testified to a Senate committee. Matt McClain/Getty Images via BI
In 2021, two former employees came forward with allegations that the company's leadership consistently chose profits over safety.
One of the whistleblowers, Frances Haugen, leaked a trove of internal documents, known as the Facebook Papers, that detailed internal challenges like the company's impact on teenagers and how it's grappled with hate speech.
In come the 'Metamates'
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announcing the Meta rebrand on Thursday. Eric Risberg/AP Photo
In October 2021, Facebook officially changed its corporate name to Meta to reflect its new focus on the metaverse, a virtual space where users can interact digitally as avatars.
"From now on, we'll be metaverse first, not Facebook first," Zuckerberg said at the time.
Source: Insider
A 'cage match' with Elon Musk?
In his spare time, Zuckerberg might also accept a challenge to fight one of his billionaire contemporaries.
On Tuesday, Tesla founder and Twitter CEO Elon Musk said he'd be "up for a cage match" with Zuckerberg.
Zuckerberg, who is known to practice jiu-jitsu, responded Wednesday via Instagram story: "Send Me Location."
Musk proposed The Octagon in Las Vegas, where UFC tournaments are held.
It's unclear if Musk or Zuckerberg will be fronting their own money to put on the match.
The Meta founder likes to share how he stays in shape, training in MMA and participating in jiu-jitsu tournaments.
In May, Zuckerberg said that he won two medals at a jiu-jitsu tournament in Redwood City, California.
Meanwhile, Zuckerberg's wealth has soared.
Getty via BI
Back in August 2020, the launch of a new Instagram feature designed to compete with TikTok sent both the company's share price and Zuckerberg's net worth to new heights.
The move caused Zuckerberg's net worth to exceed $100 billion for the first time, making him one of 10 centi-billionaires on Earth.
His wealth has dropped and fluctuated since then. Around February, the CEO's worth was around $67.2 billion.
But after the brief plunge, his net worth returned to the $100 billion threshold in June for the first time since February 2022, Forbes reported.
Source: Bloomberg
Tanza Loudenback, Taylor Nicole Rogers, and Liz Knueven contributed to an earlier version of this story.
