Mark Zuckerberg birthday: Billionaire businessman turns 40 - a look at his net worth, wife and children

Billionaire businessman Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder of social media giant Facebook, turns 40 today (Tuesday May 14).

He’s reportedly spending the milestone date on a yacht worth $300million (around £240 million), which he is said to have bought himself as an early birthday treat in the run up to his big day. But, money would have been no object for Zuckerberg, as he was the youngest billionaire to make the top 10 wealthiest people in the world list.

But, just who is Mark Zuckerberg, how did he become so successful and make so much money, and who are his wife and children? Here’s all you need to know.

Who is Mark Zuckerberg?

Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is an American businessman and philanthropist. He co-founded the social media service Facebook in 2004, along with his Harvard university roommates, along with its parent company Facebook, Inc. (now Meta Platforms), of which he is chairman, chief executive officer and controlling shareholder.

He was as born on May 14 1984, in White Plains, New York to psychiatrist Karen Zuckerberg and dentist Edward Zuckerberg. He and his three sisters; Arielle, Randi, and Donna. He developed an interest in computers and technology when he was in school. At a young age, he built a program that allowed all the computers between his house and his dad’s dental practice to communicate with each other. American publication ‘The New Yorker’ once wrote about Zuckerberg and said: "some kids played computer games. Mark created them."

He attended Harvard university from 2002 and studied psychology and computer science, which is where he helped to create the website we now know to be Facebook. Time named Zuckerberg one of the most influential people in the world several times; in 2008, 2011, 2016 and 2019, and also nominated him as a finalist several other times. He was named the ‘Time Person of the Year’ in 2010.

In December 2016, Zuckerberg was also ranked tenth on the Forbes list of the World's Most Powerful People. In the Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans in 2023, he was ranked eighth with a personal wealth of $106 billion (around £84 billion).

How did Mark Zuckerberg make his money?

Zuckerberg co-founded Facebook with his Harvard roommates in 2004 at the age of 19. Zuckerberg took the company public in May 2012 with majority shares. In 2008, at age 23, he became the world's youngest self-made billionaire. The social media website was originally called ‘The Facebook’ and was specifically for fellow Harvard students.

The purpose of the website was to publish Harvard’s student directory, "The Photo Address Book", which students referred to as "The Facebook". Students used them to list details about themselves such as their class years, their friends, and their telephone numbers. The website proved so popular Zuckerberg decided to spread it to other schools, and dropped out of Harvard to focus on growing the site. He later received an honoury degree from Harvard.

It later became a social media site that could be used to anybody, not just students, and people signed up in their millions. By July 2010, Zuckerberg reported that Facebook had reached the 500-million-user mark. In 2024, it is reported that Facebook reaches 3.05 billion monthly users.

What is Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth?

As of May 2024, Zuckerberg's net worth was estimated at $164.2 (around £130 billion) billion by Forbes, making him the fourth richest person in the world.

Who is Mark Zuckerberg’s wife?

Zuckerberg met fellow Harvard student Priscilla Chan at a university party and the pair began dating in 2003. They married on May 19 2012.

Who are Mark Zuckerberg’s children?

Zuckerberg announced on July 31 2015, that he and Chan were were expecting a baby girl. He also said that Chan had previously experienced three miscarriages. Their daughter, Maxima Chan Zuckerberg, was born later that same year on December 1. Their second daughter, August, was born in August 2017 and third daughter, Aurelia, arrived on March 24 2023.