Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has fallen to fifth place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, marking his lowest position in nearly two years. The drop follows an 11% decline in Meta’s stock price, which erased $29.2 billion from its net worth in a single day
The stock plunged after Meta announced plans for a $30 billion debt sale to fund its aggressive artificial intelligence research initiatives. This represents the largest investment-grade bond offering of the year, raising concerns among investors about the company’s escalating spending.
Zuckerberg’s decline allowed Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos and Alphabet Inc. co-founder Larry Page to surpass him in the wealth rankings. Neither Bezos nor Page had been among the world’s four richest people since October 2023.
Roughly $25 billion was cut from Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth as Meta shares dropped by more than 10% on Thursday. Read why: https://t.co/4dVmnEpqC0
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— Forbes (@Forbes) October 30, 2025The contrasting fortunes highlight divergent investor reactions to tech earnings reports. While Meta faced scepticism over its AI budget, Alphabet’s shares climbed 2.5% after the company reported better-than-expected revenue, driven by strong demand for its cloud and AI services.
Before Thursday’s decline, Meta’s stock had gained 28% in 2025, adding $57 billion to Zuckerberg’s fortune. However, the company’s projection that it could spend up to $118 billion in capital expenditures this year—with potentially higher spending in 2026 prompted investor caution.
Read: Meta to Shut Down Messenger Desktop Apps for Windows and Mac in December 2025
At least two analysts downgraded Meta’s shares following the announcement of its spending. The $29.2 billion single-day drop in Zuckerberg’s wealth represents the fourth-largest market-driven decline ever recorded by the Bloomberg wealth index.
Meanwhile, Amazon shares have surged more than 30% since mid-April, boosted by investor enthusiasm for its cloud-computing unit and its strategic partnerships with AI firms.
