Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune has tumbled by US$17.4-billion so far this year as Facebook faces fresh criticism over its treatment of critics and continues to grapple with the fallout from its response to Russian election meddling.
Shares of the social media giant fell 3% Friday to $139.53, the lowest since April 2017. Zuckerberg, 34, who recently was the world’s third richest person, behind Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, is now ranked sixth on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Zuckerberg’s fortune, now at $55.3-billion, has tumbled more than $31-billion from its peak on 25 July. Oracle’s Larry Ellison, is close behind at number seven with $54.7-billion.
Zuckerberg faced renewed pressure on Friday, with a group of Democratic senators demanding that he respond to news reports that the company used contractors to retaliate against critics of its privacy practices and efforts to thwart Russian propaganda on its network. — Reported by Tom Maloney, (c) 2018 Bloomberg LP