Mark Zuckerberg made $28 billion this morning after Meta shares hit a record high

New York
CNN
—

Mark Zuckerberg's wealth increased by more than $28 billion between his morning coffee and his lunch break.

The founder and CEO of Meta — who is already worth more than $140 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index — has cleaned up From the significant rise in Meta's share price over the past day, after the company announced its first-ever cash dividend program.

On Friday, Meta shares rose (dead) Jumped more than 20% on the news A quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share is paid on March 26 to shareholders of record as of February 22.

Zuckerberg owns about 350 million shares in the company, according to the US Securities and Exchange Commission

Unless he buys or sells more company shares, and assuming quarterly earnings remain at the same level, Zuckerberg will also benefit from the company's dividends to the tune of about $700 million annually.

While dividends excite shareholders because they reward investors simply for holding shares, they are also widely criticized for artificially inflating the stock price without spending on employees or improving the core business.

This rally outweighs the potential damage to Meta stock afterward Zuckerberg testified, along with other social media company chiefs Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the risks their products pose to young people.

Zuckerberg was pressured Internal filings indicate the company estimates the lifetime value of a teen user at $270, as well as Meta's transparency regarding how it monetizes user data.

Zuckerberg apologized to the parents in attendance, who said their children were victims of social media.

“I'm sorry for everything you've been through,” he said. “No one should have to go through the things your families have to go through, and that's why we're investing so much and will continue to make industry-wide efforts to make sure no one should have to go through the things your families have had to go through.”