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Mark Zuckerberg

Founder, chairman and CEO of Meta (formerly Facebook)^{Source [3]}^{Source [4]}

Social mediaArtificial intelligenceVirtual realityPhilanthropyBiology research

Unclaimed profileLast verified Oct 2, 2026

About

Mark Zuckerberg is the founder, chairman and CEO of Meta Platforms, the company behind Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Threads. He launched thefacebook.com as a Harvard student on February 4, 2004, has been CEO since the company was incorporated in July 2004, and has chaired its board since January 2012.^{Source [1]}^{Source [2]}^{Source [3]}^{Source [4]}

He studied computer science at Harvard and attended Phillips Exeter Academy before that, where he built the music program Synapse. At Harvard he also built Facemash, a photo rating site that he took down in late 2003. In November 2005 he told The Harvard Crimson he was leaving Harvard to run the company, then based in Palo Alto.^{Source [5]}^{Source [6]}^{Source [7]}^{Source [3]}

He took Facebook public in May 2012 at $38 a share and kept voting control through its Class B shares. Under his leadership the company bought Instagram in 2012 and Oculus VR and WhatsApp in 2014, and on October 28, 2021 adopted Meta as its corporate brand, with a focus on virtual reality and later AI glasses and AI assistants.^{Source [2]}^{Source [8]}^{Source [9]}^{Source [10]}^{Source [4]}

With his wife, Priscilla Chan, he co-founded the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in December 2015 and pledged substantially all of his Facebook shares to it during his lifetime. He is its co-CEO, and since November 2025 its science work has centered on Biohub, a research organization applying AI to biology.^{Source [11]}^{Source [12]}^{Source [13]}

Career

Company	Years	Role	Status
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Established the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative with Priscilla Chan in 2015 and said he would direct substantially all of his Facebook shares to it during his lifetime. He is its co-CEO.^{Source [11]}^{Source [14]}^{Source [12]} Announced the initiative on December 1, 2015 alongside a pledge of substantially all of his Facebook shares.^{Source [11]} Committed $3 billion over a decade in September 2016 to help scientists cure, prevent or manage disease, starting with the $600 million Biohub.^{Source [15]} Announced in November 2025 that Biohub would focus on combining frontier AI with biology, bringing in the EvolutionaryScale team and expanding compute to 10,000 GPUs by 2028.^{Source [13]} CZI reports about $7.22 billion in grants and nearly $300 million in venture investments since 2015.^{Source [14]} Suggest a correction to Chan Zuckerberg Initiative	2015 to now	Co-founder^{Source [14]}^{Source [12]}^{Source [11]}Co-CEO^{Source [12]}	Active
Meta Launched thefacebook.com as a Harvard student on February 4, 2004, after two earlier projects: Synapse, a music playlist program built in high school with Adam D'Angelo, and Facemash, a photo rating site he took down in late 2003. He introduced the Meta company brand on October 28, 2021.^{Source [1]}^{Source [5]}^{Source [6]}^{Source [10]} Led the May 2012 IPO at $38 per share, after which Class B holders held about 96% of the voting power.^{Source [2]} Oversaw the acquisitions of Instagram (2012), Oculus VR (2014) and WhatsApp (2014).^{Source [8]}^{Source [9]}^{Source [16]} Renamed the company's brand to Meta in October 2021.^{Source [10]} Takes a $1 annual base salary and is not eligible for bonuses under Meta's bonus plan.^{Source [3]} Leads a company that reported $200.97 billion in 2025 revenue and 3.58 billion daily active people across its apps in December 2025.^{Source [4]} Suggest a correction to Meta	2004 to now	Founder^{Source [3]}^{Source [1]}CEO^{Source [3]}Chairman of the Board^{Source [3]}	IPO

Milestones

2025-11-06Announced with Priscilla Chan that Biohub would focus on AI-powered biology.^{Source [13]}
2021-10-28Introduced Meta as the new brand for the Facebook company.^{Source [10]}
2017-05-25Gave Harvard's Commencement address and received an honorary Doctor of Laws.^{Source [17]}
2016-09-21Committed $3 billion through CZI to science and launched the $600 million Biohub.^{Source [15]}
2015-12-01Announced the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative with Priscilla Chan.^{Source [11]}
2014-10Facebook completed its acquisition of WhatsApp.^{Source [9]}
2014-07Facebook completed its acquisition of Oculus VR.^{Source [16]}^{Source [9]}
2012-08Facebook completed its acquisition of Instagram.^{Source [8]}
2012-05Took Facebook public at $38 per share.^{Source [2]}
2012-01Became Chairman of Facebook's board.^{Source [2]}^{Source [3]}
2010Named TIME's Person of the Year.^{Source [18]}^{Source [17]}
2005-11Said he was leaving Harvard indefinitely to run Facebook.^{Source [7]}
2004-07Incorporated Facebook in Delaware and became its CEO.^{Source [2]}
2004-02-04Launched thefacebook.com from Harvard.^{Source [1]}
2003-11Briefly ran Facemash, a photo rating site, at Harvard.^{Source [6]}

Boards, investments and other roles

Organization	Role	Years
BiohubNonprofit	Co-founder^{Source [13]}^{Source [15]}	2016

Education

Harvard University, No degree (left in 2005), Computer science 2005^{Source [3]}^{Source [7]}
Phillips Exeter Academy^{Source [5]}

Honors

TIME Person of the Year 2010^{Source [18]}^{Source [17]}
Honorary Doctor of Laws, Harvard University 2017^{Source [17]}

Links

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Sources

Hundreds Register for New Facebook Website, The Harvard Crimson, 2004-02-09. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Facebook, Inc. initial public offering prospectus (Form 424B4), Facebook, Inc. via SEC EDGAR, 2012-05-18. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Meta Platforms, Inc. 2026 Proxy Statement (DEF 14A), Meta Platforms, Inc. via SEC EDGAR, 2026-04-16. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Meta Platforms, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year 2025, Meta Platforms, Inc. via SEC EDGAR, 2026-01-29. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Mark E. Zuckerberg '06: The whiz behind thefacebook.com, The Harvard Crimson, 2004-06-10. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Hot or Not? Website Briefly Judges Looks, The Harvard Crimson, 2003-11-04. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Zuckerberg To Leave Harvard Indefinitely, The Harvard Crimson, 2005-11-01. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Facebook, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year 2012, Facebook, Inc. via SEC EDGAR, 2013-02-01. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Facebook, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year 2014, Facebook, Inc. via SEC EDGAR, 2015-01-29. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Introducing Meta: A Social Technology Company, Meta, 2021-10-28. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Facebook, Inc. Form 8-K (Chan Zuckerberg Initiative announcement), Facebook, Inc. via SEC EDGAR, 2015-12-01. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Our Leadership, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Biohub launches first large-scale scientific initiative combining frontier AI with frontier biology to cure or prevent disease, Biohub, 2025-11-06. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Supporting Scientific Research to Cure, Prevent, or Manage All Diseases in Our Children's Lifetime, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, 2016-09-21. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Facebook, Inc. Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2014, Facebook, Inc. via SEC EDGAR, 2014-10-30. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Harvard awards 10 honorary degrees at 366th Commencement, Harvard Gazette, 2017-05-25. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.
Mark Zuckerberg: Person of the Year 2010, TIME, 2010-12-15. Accessed Oct 2, 2026.

History

Sep 28, 2026: Profile created from public sources (Founded editors)
Oct 2, 2026: Enriched with about, education, highlights, other roles, milestones, awards and links (Founded editors)

Compiled by Founded editors from the cited public sources. Editorial policy / Request removal