Mark Zuckerberg Drops to Fifth as Meta Loses $29B Amid AI Spending Concerns

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, fell from third to fifth place on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index after Meta's stock plunged 11%, resulting in a $29.2 billion loss in his net worth, now estimated at $235.2 billion. The stock drop followed Meta's announcement to issue $30 billion in debt to fund ambitious AI spending, raising its 2025 expense forecast to as much as $118 billion and triggering investor concerns about potential profit squeezes. This decline was the fourth-largest one-day market-driven loss on Bloomberg's wealth index and allowed Jeff Bezos of Amazon and Larry Page of Alphabet to surpass Zuckerberg, with Amazon and Alphabet stocks rising due to strong earnings and AI-related growth. Meta's shares had previously surged 28% this year, contributing significantly to Zuckerberg's wealth growth, but the increased capital expenditures and future spending projections caused at least two analyst downgrades and a sharp selloff. Other billionaires like Elon Musk and Larry Ellison also experienced significant losses amid broader stock market turmoil. The developments highlight the volatility tech billionaires face as markets react to large-scale AI investments and shifting investor sentiment.