Mark Zuckerberg loses $8.9 billion as Meta shares fall 4 per cent

MUMBAI: Meta’s stock market spell hit a small stumble on Friday, and Mark Zuckerberg felt the fall in his fortune as a sharp share-price reversal wiped an estimated $8.9 billion from his net worth. According to Forbes, Zuckerberg’s estimated wealth stood at $257.5 billion at 2:30 p.m. ET on 25 September, when Meta shares were trading at about $749.26. Zuckerberg owns around 13 per cent of Meta, meaning movements in the company’s share price can quickly translate into billions of dollars on paper.

Meta shares fell roughly 4 per cent on Friday, reversing part of a rally that had lifted the stock 4.5 per cent a day earlier. Despite the setback, Meta shares had gained about 36 per cent during September, with investor attention boosted by the launch of the company’s Muse personal AI assistant.

The market move also affected Zuckerberg’s position on Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires list. He slipped from fourth to sixth place, with Sergey Brin estimated at $259.9 billion and Michael Dell at $275.9 billion.

The reversal came as Goldman Sachs cautioned investors about the scale of capital expenditure being committed to artificial intelligence by major hyperscalers, including Meta, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Oracle.

Goldman Sachs estimates that these companies would need to generate around $300 billion in annual AI services revenue simply to break even on their capital spending. To generate meaningful profits from that investment, the figure would need to rise to about $1 trillion a year, according to Forbes.

The warning comes at a time when Meta is spending heavily to build out its AI capabilities, while investors are closely watching whether those investments can eventually translate into substantial new revenue streams.

Muse has been one of the recent catalysts behind Meta’s strong September performance. Forbes, citing Sensor Tower data, reported that the AI assistant recorded 2.8 million downloads within its first two weeks.

Meta also came close to a $2 trillion market capitalisation on Thursday, ending the session less than 1 per cent below that milestone before Friday’s decline.

Muse is designed to handle tasks beyond conventional chatbot conversations, including sending emails, booking travel and carrying out transactions on behalf of users. One example cited is its ability to help sell a car.

The basic version is available for free, while paid subscriptions cost $20 and $100 per month for higher levels of usage.

For now, the numbers tell two sides of Meta’s AI story. The company’s shares had surged about 36 per cent in September as investors warmed to its AI ambitions, but Friday’s retreat shows how quickly that enthusiasm can meet questions over the enormous cost of building the infrastructure behind it.