Facebook FB +1.90% CEO Mark Zuckerberg added $3.4 billion to his fortune in just over an hour on Wednesday in after-hours trading, as the market cheered the social media company’s impressive second-quarter results.
The gains pushed Zuckerberg’s net worth to a new high of $56.7 billion, according to FORBES estimates. He is currently the world’s fifth-richest person, right behind Jeff Bezos, who has an estimated fortune of $64 billion.
Facebook’s stock price soared 6.5% in after-hours trading to $131.40, as of 5:15 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday. The rise followed the company’s announcement that revenues and earnings had eclipsed analysts’ estimates, primarily thanks to gains in mobile ad revenue. Revenues in the second quarter rose about 59% to $6.44 billion, topping the $6.02 billion that analysts predicted. Profits increased to $2.1 billion, or 71 cents a share, exceeding analysts’ estimates of 57 cents a share.
In April, Zuckerberg’s fortune rocketed up by $4.2 billion in after-hours trading after Facebook’s strong first-quarter earnings. Like other billionaires who hold the vast majority of their wealth in one company’s stock, his fortune can rise or fall by billions of dollars in minutes or hours, following quarterly reports or other major company news. – READ MORE
