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Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg

Born 1984 · Age 41

American computer programmer and entrepreneur; co‑founder, chairman and CEO of Facebook (now Meta Platforms); co‑founder of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Total Events
51
Career Span
41 years
Peak Net Worth
$221,200,000,000

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Life & Career Timeline

1984Age 0

Born in White Plains, New York

Mark Elliot Zuckerberg born to Edward (dentist) and Karen (psychiatrist) Zuckerberg; raised in Dobbs Ferry, NY.

5/14/1984Source
Confidence
99%
1995Age 11

Creates early messaging program 'ZuckNet'

At about age 11 Zuckerberg created 'ZuckNet' to allow computers at home and his father's dental office to communicate.

1/1/1995Source
Confidence
90%
1999Age 15

Forms Intelligent Media Group / builds Synapse

In high school Zuckerberg co‑founded Intelligent Media Group and helped develop Synapse Media Player, an early music recommendation/player using machine learning.

7/1/1999Source
Confidence
85%
2000Age 16

Transfers to Phillips Exeter Academy

Zuckerberg attended Phillips Exeter Academy (prep school), excelled academically and captained the fencing team.

1/1/2000Source
Confidence
90%
2002Age 18

Enrolls at Harvard University

Began studies in psychology and computer science at Harvard; lived in Kirkland House and joined Alpha Epsilon Pi.

1/1/2002Source
Confidence
99%
2002Age 18

Creates CourseMatch at Harvard

Built CourseMatch to help students choose classes and form study groups using peers' course choices.

1/1/2002Source
Confidence
90%
2003Age 19

Builds Facemash (controversial campus site)

Created Facemash, a site that let Harvard students compare student photos; site was shut down by the university and provoked disciplinary action.

1/1/2003Source
Confidence
95%
2004Age 20

Secures seed investment from Peter Thiel

Early investor Peter Thiel provided seed financing to Facebook, commonly reported as $500,000 in late 2004.

1/1/2004Source
Confidence
92%
2004Age 19

Accused by Winklevosses / ConnectU dispute begins

Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra accused Zuckerberg of stealing idea for HarvardConnection (ConnectU); dispute later resulted in litigation and a settlement.

2/1/2004Source
Confidence
95%
2004Age 19

Launches 'Thefacebook' (Facebook)

Launched Thefacebook.com from his Harvard dorm in partnership with roommates Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes and Andrew McCollum.

2/4/2004Source
Confidence
99%
2004Age 20

Drops out of Harvard and moves to Palo Alto

Left Harvard in sophomore year to focus on Facebook; relocated to Palo Alto with co‑founders and established early offices (leased house as office).

6/1/2004Source
Confidence
98%
2004Age 20

Co‑founds Wirehog (peer‑to‑peer project)

Alongside Andrew McCollum, Adam D'Angelo and Sean Parker, launched Wirehog, a campus peer‑to‑peer file sharing project (precursor to platform features).

8/1/2004Source
Confidence
80%
2005Age 21

Accel Partners invests in Facebook

Accel Partners led a venture round that invested $12.7 million into Facebook (widely reported as May 2005).

1/1/2005Source
Confidence
95%
2005Age 21

Facebook opens to high school students / renames 'Facebook'

Following growth on campuses, Facebook expanded to high schools and broadened registration; in 2005 the 'the' was dropped from site name.

1/1/2005Source
Confidence
80%
2005Age 21

Eduardo Saverin lawsuit and settlement (filed/settled)

Co‑founder Eduardo Saverin filed suit alleging misuse of funds; settled out of court (terms sealed) but Saverin remained acknowledged as co‑founder.

1/1/2005Source
Confidence
90%
2007Age 23

Added to MIT Technology Review TR35 list

Named one of the top 35 innovators under 35 by MIT Technology Review.

1/1/2007Source
Confidence
95%
2007Age 23

Microsoft strategic investment

Microsoft bought approximately 1.6% of Facebook for roughly $240 million (2007), marking a major strategic investment.

1/1/2007Source
Confidence
95%
2008Age 23

Named world's youngest self‑made billionaire

Forbes and other outlets reported Zuckerberg became the world's youngest self‑made billionaire at age 23; estimated net worth reported ~USD 1.5 billion.

1/1/2008Net Worth: $1,500,000,000Source
Confidence
90%
2008Age 24

Winklevoss/ConnectU settlement

Settlement reached with ConnectU/Winklevosses — Facebook agreed to transfer ~1.2 million shares plus $20 million in cash (June 25, 2008 reported date).

1/1/2008Source
Confidence
95%
2010Age 26

Donates $100 million to Newark public schools

Announced a $100M donation to support Newark, NJ public schools (Sept/Dec 2010 reports).

1/1/2010Source
Confidence
92%
2010Age 26

Facebook reaches 500 million users

On July 21, 2010 Zuckerberg announced Facebook had reached 500 million users worldwide.

1/1/2010Source
Confidence
99%
2010Age 26

Film 'The Social Network' released

Aaron Sorkin / David Fincher film dramatizing Facebook's founding premiered (Oct 2010); it won multiple Academy Awards.

10/1/2010Source
Confidence
99%
2012Age 27

Acquires Instagram for USD 1 billion

Facebook announced agreement to buy Instagram (deal closed April 2012) for about $1 billion in cash and stock.

4/1/2012Source
Confidence
96%
2012Age 28

Facebook IPO (goes public)

Facebook held its initial public offering, raised about $16 billion and had a peak market cap near $104 billion; Zuckerberg retained majority voting control.

5/18/2012Net Worth: $19,000,000,000Source
Confidence
95%
2012Age 28

Marries Priscilla Chan

Zuckerberg married longtime partner Priscilla Chan in Palo Alto the day after the Facebook IPO (May 19, 2012).

5/19/2012Net Worth: $19,000,000,000Source
Confidence
99%
2013Age 29

Launches Internet.org initiative

Announced Internet.org (Aug 2013) to expand internet access to unconnected regions; later renamed Free Basics in some markets.

8/1/2013Source
Confidence
95%
2013Age 29

TechCrunch Disrupt remarks – 5 billion people goal

At TechCrunch Disrupt (Sept 2013) stated aim to connect the ~5 billion people not yet on the internet and explained Internet.org ambition.

9/1/2013Source
Confidence
92%
2014Age 30

Purchases Kauaʻi land (Hawaii)

Purchased approximately 700 acres (later reports up to ~1,400 acres across holdings) on Kauaʻi, Hawaii (reported 2014); later legal disputes over quiet title filings were filed/dropped in 2017.

1/1/2014Source
Confidence
88%
2014Age 29

Acquires WhatsApp for about USD 19 billion

Facebook closed acquisition of messaging app WhatsApp in February 2014 for roughly $19 billion (cash & stock deal).

2/1/2014Source
Confidence
96%
2015Age 31

Founds Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI)

With wife Priscilla Chan launched the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (2015) and pledged to give the majority of their Facebook shares (pledged 99% over lifetime) to philanthropy.

1/1/2015Source
Confidence
96%
2015Age 31

Birth of first child, Maxima 'Max' Chan Zuckerberg

First daughter Maxima born in December 2015; birth influenced philanthropic commitments announced publicly.

12/1/2015Source
Confidence
98%
2016Age 32

Co‑founds Breakthrough Starshot (board member)

Joined Yuri Milner and Stephen Hawking as a co‑founder and board member of Breakthrough Starshot (announced 2016) to develop light sail spacecraft.

1/1/2016Source
Confidence
90%
2017Age 33

Receives honorary degree from Harvard

Delivered Harvard commencement speech and received an honorary degree on Harvard's 366th commencement (May 25, 2017).

5/25/2017Net Worth: $56,000,000,000Source
Confidence
85%
2017Age 33

Birth of second daughter, August Chan Zuckerberg

Second daughter, named August, born in August 2017.

8/1/2017Source
Confidence
98%
2018Age 33

Cambridge Analytica revelations and congressional scrutiny

Revelation that Cambridge Analytica harvested personal data for tens of millions of users led to public backlash; Zuckerberg later testified before U.S. Congress.

3/1/2018Net Worth: $60,000,000,000Source
Confidence
95%
2018Age 33

Testifies before US Senate (Cambridge Analytica)

Zuckerberg testified before the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee on Facebook's data use (April 10–11, 2018).

4/10/2018Net Worth: $60,000,000,000Source
Confidence
95%
2019Age 35

Announces Libra cryptocurrency initiative

Announced Facebook's (later Meta's) planned cryptocurrency Libra (renamed Diem later); project faced regulatory pushback and was wound down/sold later.

6/1/2019Source
Confidence
95%
2020Age 36

Donates to election security and COVID relief

During 2020 Zuckerberg and CZI donated to election offices (~$400M reported donation to election offices) and COVID‑19 relief efforts (including $25M to therapeutics accelerator).

1/1/2020Source
Confidence
80%
2020Age 36

Integrates Instagram and Messenger chat systems

Facebook integrated chat between Instagram and Messenger on iOS and Android (Aug 14, 2020) to enable cross‑communication.

8/14/2020Source
Confidence
94%
2021Age 37

Major metaverse investment & losses reported

Meta invested heavily in Reality Labs / metaverse R&D; by Oct 2022 reported multibillion-dollar losses (reports mention ~$13.7B cumulative as of Oct 2022).

1/1/2021Source
Confidence
80%
2021Age 37

Rebrands Facebook, Inc. to Meta Platforms

Announced corporate rebrand from Facebook, Inc. to Meta Platforms (Oct 2021) to emphasize focus on the metaverse and VR/AR.

10/1/2021Source
Confidence
99%
2022Age 38

Meta lays off 11,000 employees

Meta announced layoffs of about 11,000 employees in November 2022 amid slowing growth and restructuring.

11/1/2022Source
Confidence
95%
2023Age 38

Announces pivot from metaverse to generative AI focus

Public statements in Feb 2023 indicated Meta shifting emphasis from broad metaverse buildup to generative AI tools and products.

2/1/2023Source
Confidence
90%
2023Age 38

Birth of third daughter, Aurelia

Biography and other sources report a third daughter, Aurelia, born in March 2023.

3/1/2023Source
Confidence
85%
2023Age 38

Continued layoffs and industry downturn

Meta announced further workforce reductions in March 2023 as part of broader tech sector restructuring.

3/1/2023Source
Confidence
90%
2024Age 39

Testimony at Senate Judiciary Committee (child safety)

Testified in January 2024 about child safety on social media and apologized to families affected by online harm.

1/1/2024Source
Confidence
95%
2024Age 40

Internal disclosures re: Instagram teen safety (legal filings)

Court documents allege Zuckerberg personally rejected product proposals intended to improve teen mental health and safety on Instagram (disclosed in ongoing litigation).

1/1/2024Source
Confidence
80%
2024Age 40

Reported political actions and donations (2024)

Reports indicate Meta donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural fund (Dec 2024) and Zuckerberg congratulated Trump after the 2024 election; signaled policy shifts in 2024–2025.

11/1/2024Source
Confidence
70%
2025Age 40

Meta announces big AI investment; ends independent fact‑checking

Zuckerberg announced a 2025 strategic shift including large AI investments (reported $60B for year by some sources) and ending independent fact‑checking programs in favor of community systems.

1/1/2025Source
Confidence
65%
2025Age 41

Ongoing legal and regulatory scrutiny

Continued lawsuits and regulatory actions (antitrust, privacy, content moderation) naming Meta and Zuckerberg; major cases ongoing into mid‑2020s.

1/1/2025Net Worth: $221,200,000,000Source
Confidence
85%
2025Age 41

Estimated net worth reported by Forbes

Forbes reported Zuckerberg's estimated net worth at US$221.2 billion (May 2025), ranking him among the world’s wealthiest individuals.

5/1/2025Net Worth: $221,200,000,000Source
Confidence
90%

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