Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg got $23.6 billion richer in 2017 in a list of biggest billionaire gainers of 2017 released by Forbes.
Forbes tracked the net worth of more than 2,000 billionaires in 2017 with Jeff Bezos, the richest person on earth since October, leading the 2017 biggest billionaire gainers list.
TheNewsGuru reports Forbes measured the gains between January 1, 2017 and December 14, 2017, and with the development, Zuckerberg’s net worth now stands at $72 billion.
The 10 biggest billionaire gainers added a total of $204 billion to their fortunes, compared to a mere $74.7 billion gain in 2016.
Zuckerberg’s Facebook has been on a steady roll in 2017, its stock up by nearly 60%, bolstered by growth in mobile advertising, Forbes stated in a web post.
In December 2015, Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, announced they would give away 99% of their Facebook shares to philanthropic causes.
“Zuckerberg also requested the creation of a new class of shares which would allow him to retain his voting control over the company. After a public outcry, Zuckerberg, who cofounded Facebook in 2004 at the age of 19 and holds about a 17% stake in the company, scrapped the plans in September.
“The 33-year old billionaire also announced that he will expedite his philanthropic efforts and sell 35 million to 75 million Facebook shares over the next 18 months to fund a variety of causes,” Forbes narrated.
Others who topped the gainers list are: world’s richest real estate tycoon, Hui Ka Yan; LVMH’s CEO, Bernard Arnault; Chinese tech billionaire and Tencent Holdings’ chairman, Ma Huateng; and the fourth richest person in the world in 2010, Mukesh Ambani.
Others are: Carlos Slim Helu & family, Yang Huiyan, Larry Ellison, and Francois Pinault & family, who made the top 10 gainers list.