Mark Zuckerberg surpasses Jeff Bezos to become the second-richest.

Photo: Reuters

Mark Zuckerberg has become the world's second-richest person for the first time as of Thursday, surpassing Jeff Bezos, thanks to the rising shares of Meta Platforms Inc. This significant shift in wealth comes as Zuckerberg’s investments in the metaverse, which were initially viewed as unpromising, have started to yield positive results in recent months. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his net worth has reached a peak of $206.2 billion, placing him $1.1 billion ahead of Amazon's Bezos and nearly $50 billion behind Tesla's Elon Musk.

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The rise in Meta's shares, which have increased by 23% since the company reported better-than-expected sales in the second quarter, has contributed to this wealth surge. Meta also highlighted its commitment to advancing large language models, which are essential for AI chatbots. On Thursday, the stock reached an all-time high of $582.77.

Zuckerberg has invested heavily in data centers and computing power as he strives to secure a leading position in the industry-wide AI race. Additionally, Meta is advancing its long-term projects, such as the Orion augmented reality glasses, which were unveiled last month. Zuckerberg, who holds a 13% stake in the Menlo Park, California-based company, has seen his fortune increase by $78 billion this year alone, marking the largest gain among the world's 500 richest individuals tracked by the Bloomberg index.

At 40 years old, Zuckerberg has moved up four spots on the wealth index this year, reflecting his substantial financial growth and the evolving landscape of technology and AI.