Facebook’s Owner, Mark Zuckerberg – 21 Richest Man on Earth According to Forbes

Facebook turned 10 this year and no one was celebrating harder than CEO Mark Zuckerberg. After seeing his company past the growing pains of a disastrous May 2012 IPO, Zuckerberg has the Menlo Park, Calif.-based company flying high.

Facebook’s shares are up more than 130% over the past year as of Feb. 2014, enabling blockbuster deals like the $19 billion purchase of WhatsApp and more than doubling Zuck’s net worth over the same period, even after he gifted away 18 million shares in late December. He sold more than 41 million shares and exercised 60 million options around that time as well. Once a laughing stock because of its Nasdaq fiasco, Facebook has recovered with huge improvements in mobile revenue, with many congratulating Zuckerberg for refocusing the company on translating eyeballs into dollars. The Facebook cofounder continues to remain politically active, staying the course with his lobbying group FWD.us despite its rocky initial public reception. The group focuses on advocating for immigration reform and the improvement of science and technology education.