Getty Images
A record high for Facebook Inc. stock has reportedly pushed Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg’s wealth beyond that of famed investor Warren Buffett.
Facebook shares closed up 2.4% Friday at $203.23, notching a record close for the social-networking company. Facebook stock has been on a steady climb, hitting several records in June and July, despite pressure from lawmakers in the wake of the Cambridge Analytical data privacy scandal.
Amid the tech company’s stock gains, Zuckerberg has sold roughly $3.58 billion worth of shares this year. Despite those massive stock sales, as of Friday, due to Facebook stock’s record high, Zuckerberg is now the third richest person in the world, surpassing Warren Buffett, according to Bloomberg News.
Zuckerberg trails Amazon.com Inc. founder and Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, and Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, Bloomberg reported.
Zuckerberg owns more than $77 billion worth of Facebook stock as well as an investment of nearly $1 billion in an education startup, according to FactSet.
The $3.58 billion in stock sales are largely intended to fund the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, the philanthropic investment arm Zuckerberg set up with his wife, Priscilla Chan, in 2015. In a September 2017 Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the Facebook founder said that he plans to sell at least $6 billion in stock over the next 18 months to fund the organization.
Zuckerberg has pledged to give away 99% of his Facebook stock away in his lifetime.
Buffett has given away about 290 million class B Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shares to charities worth about $50 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Facebook stock has gained 15% this year as the S&P 500 index has risen 2.4%.