Mark Zuckerberg dropped to fifth place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, marking his lowest rank in nearly two years, as Meta Platforms Inc.’s announcement of a $30 billion debt sale rattled investors and sent the company’s shares tumbling amid a wave of tech earnings reshuffling the world’s wealthiest.
Meta’s stock plunged 11%, the largest decline since 2022, after revealing plans for the year’s biggest investment-grade bond issuance to fund artificial intelligence initiatives, reducing Zuckerberg’s net worth to $235.2 billion. He was overtaken by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Alphabet’s Larry Page, the latter returning to the top five for the first time since October 2023. Alphabet shares rose 2.5% following better-than-expected revenue, driven by strong demand for cloud and AI services. Zuckerberg’s $29.2 billion loss ranks as the fourth-largest one-day market-driven drop in Bloomberg’s wealth index.
Meta had gained 28% earlier this year, boosting Zuckerberg’s fortune by $57 billion. However, concerns over rising AI spending and projected capital expenditures of up to $118 billion in 2025 and potentially higher in 2026 prompted analyst downgrades. Meanwhile, Amazon shares surged over 30% since April, supported by its thriving cloud and AI deals.
