Mark Zuckerberg now richer than Steve Jobs

September 23, 2010 By Laura Khalil

The results are in and the Forbes 400 lists the richest people in America. Results show that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has overtaken Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

It’s no surprise that Bill Gates still reigns supreme on the Forbes 400 list of richest people in America. His estimated wealth valuation is $54 billion. In a not too distant second place, Warren Buffett came in with an estimated $45 billion. Rounding out the top three on this list of I-have-more-money-than-I-can-shake-a-fist-at was Oracle Founder, Larry Ellison, with $27 billion.

What is surprising is to see 26 year old Mark Zuckerberg, who didn’t even qualify as a billionaire last year, ranked higher than Steve Jobs. Ranked at No. 35, Zuckerberg ($6.9 billion) meteoric rise is largely due to a $200 million infusion of cash in Facebook last year. Interestingly, Jobs’ (No. 42; $6.1 billion) net worth is not based on his success with Apple, but comes from his shares in Disney, which bought his Pixar animation studio in 2006 for $7.4 billion.

Zuckerberg does appear to be putting his massive wealth to good use, announcing today that he was donating $100 million to schools in Newark, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Showing 28 comments

Dave at 7:12am 28th September 2010 Mark Zuckerberg is definitely more of a tool than Steve Jobs, if that helps?
Hayden Williams at 3:17am 28th September 2010 There probably all really nice guys who donate a fair share of money to needy people... Other than that who really cares what they make or do with there money...
DaveYAzz at 2:04am 28th September 2010 Donating millions to school....Thank GOD for that.....someone that is doing the right thing!
James at 1:45am 28th September 2010 So does he actually have this money or is it another vague valuation based on Facebook being worth more than it really is?
Web Teevee at 11:57pm 27th September 2010 still 26 an already a billionaire! wow donating that $100 Million is a good start :) Watch FROCH vs. ABRAHAM live at http://bit.ly/bitPjD
Real Story at 10:13pm 27th September 2010 Bill gates has changed the world in more ways that Steve jobs ever has, he is the real Edison. Steve jobs is on the brink of a technological revolution with his Iphone and Ipad products, but this revolution cannot compare with what Bill gates has accomplished. "When Paul Allen and I started Microsoft over 30 years ago, we had big dreams about software,” recalls Gates. “We had dreams about the impact it could have. We talked about a computer on every desk and in every home. It’s been amazing to see so much of that dream become a reality and touch so many lives. I never imagined what an incredible and important company would spring from those original ideas.” A computer in every home, a big vision, and in some countries around this world, it is almost a reality.
spaz at 7:30pm 27th September 2010 apple fan boys/girls are a weird breed. I Respect what apple has done with their company, marketing, and devices... but Apple is just not as revolutionary as fannies want to believe.
Reality Bites at 6:47pm 27th September 2010 Get real people. Comparing Steve Jobs to Edison? The light bulb to anything made by Apple? Design-wise and marketing wise, yeah, Apple is good. But how many people in the world actually own anything Apple? Less than 2%....TWO PERCENT! In the US, every Jane and Joe might be sporting an iPhone, or an iPod, etc, but step out of the boundaries of homeland security and you'll see that Apple doesn't play a role AT ALL in 98% of the worlds population. So please, let's be realistic. And yeah, for me, if there is anyone who wants to build a monopoly and dictate how consumers should consume their content, then it's Steve Jobs, not Bill Gates. And about all the Bill Gates philanthropic efforts, he knows that before he can get any kind of technology in the hands of everyone in the world, he needs to, first and foremost, alleviate hunger and sickness. Only after that very basic necessity is covered can that person, or country, think about using newer technology. Now that's VISION.
Peter Jones at 3:22pm 27th September 2010 comparing steve jobs and bill gates, is like comparing www.facebook.com with www.onlyrooms.com
Nick McPrick at 12:31pm 27th September 2010 I bet Apple stays around longer than Facebook though, unless Jobs' liver finally gets the best of him.
jamEs at 10:03am 27th September 2010 As far as I know Jobs takes a $1 a year salary from Apple. I don't think Jobs has ever been one that aspired to be rich per say. He's more of a visionary artist then he is a capitalist.
1. Jordan Lerma at 10:18am 27th September 2010 Remember that he has gets 37 million in dividends from Disney.
The Neutral Guy at 9:05am 27th September 2010 26......and a billionaire.....now thats an achievement
Steve Jobs Fan at 12:29pm 23rd September 2010 Steve Jobs, in terms of what he has done to modern day society has as big of an impact on society, as let say Thomas Eddison. Even Bill Gates, owes his welth to Steve. I just wish there were more Steve Jobs in this world.
1. CommenSense at 1:52pm 27th September 2010 Really? Comparing Steve Jobs to Edison? Really? What has Steve done in all honesty? I mean, he was pretty much out of the picture from 1985 through 1997 while he dealt with Pixar. Here's the real difference. When Gates left Microsoft he dedicated his time to alleviating malaria and all sorts of philanthropic endeavors. Unfortunately for Jobs that same cannot be said. In the past decade Jobs name does not appear on any philanthropic list nor has he used his incredibly over-bloated popularity to speak out on any issues other than the fact that he likes Bob Dylan. And I would love to know how you came to the conclusion that Gates owes anything to Jobs. All Jobs has done is manage to produce is a monopoly of an overly expensive closed box that use proprietary software and hardware. You enjoy being a fanboy. The rest of us will deal with reality.
  1. Apple Fan at 3:21pm 27th September 2010 I didn't start this thread and I'm not an Apple "fanboy" (I don't own any Apple products except an iPod given to me by an ex-girlfriend.) However, I highly respect the man and I DO think I may know where "Steve Jobs Fan" is coming from. First, when Steve Jobs was away from Apple from 85 to 97, he wasn't just messing around throwing his money at random companies. He spent a lot of that time developing the design principles and framework that would become Mac OS X and, in its latest iteration, iOS 4, operating systems which appeal to millions for their simplicity of use and aesthetic appeal. He was also deeply involved with Pixar, a company whose movies have redefined computer animation and still manage to tug at my nieces' and nephews' heartstrings every time I turn it on for them. Jobs just seems to have some 'vision' in his head of where our world can go with technology and he has been spot on with that vision for three decades. Unlike other tech titans, though, Jobs's vision seems less motivated by profit than by a sense that there is some "perfect" way that computers should work. Those may not be the best choice of words on my part but it just seems to me like his emphasis on design and aesthetics is for some higher goal, the same goal that makes us "ooo" and "ahh" when we see sci-fi movies. At Apple, they make futuristic art, and they're damn good at it. Bill Gates, while undoubtedly a great philanthropist and helper to millions, just didn't have the same vision. He owes part of his success to Jobs in the sense that many of the design principles which helped Windows succeed were ideas originally taken from the Mac. (I think it should go without saying, though, that of course Steve Jobs owes his success to the countless other geniuses he surrounded himself with at Apple, and to the visionaries at Xerox PARC, for that matter.) Again, Gates has done great humanitarian things for the world, helping and saving millions, and deserves to be in a whole 'nother category for it. The point is, though, that it's a different category... equally (if not more) important, but different nonetheless. As for Apple's "monopoly of overly expensive closed box... proprietary software and hardware," it's only because Jobs sees that that's the only way to get the best possible experience to the user, without it being degraded and filtered down by profit-driven executives at the end of the day. As much as I love Windows (I'm running W7 on my own personally-built rig), you can't deny the slowness and pain of having to uninstall all that junk crap you get when you buy any other company's computers. Again, I'm not an Apple "fanboy" in the usual sense. But I am a fan. I just try to give credit where credit is due. Sorry for the rant :)
  2. Deucalion at 2:49am 28th September 2010 Philanthropy, You think? what a joke, there is always an Agenda.
    nowadays at 9:23am 28th September 2010 Someone with complete self awareness, would not agree.
  3. The Truth at 10:59am 28th September 2010 Why is everyone making comparisons to Edison. I guess no one on here has heard of Tesla and how he revolutionized the 20th and 21st century, not Edison...
2. knowledgeable at 4:23am 28th September 2010 hahahaha- Apple wouldn't even exist without a cash gift from Bill Gates and Microsoft in 1997. And i won't even address the claim about Jobs/Edison- but you think that Jobs' impact on the world has been greater than Gates'?! please learn the history of computing in the world. There's a reason why Microsoft had its "monopoly" busted a few years ago ;-)
3. Dan at 5:08am 28th September 2010 HA comparing Steve Jobs to Thomas Eddison? Bad comparison.
  1. Someone at 6:12am 20th October 2010 I don't know why everyone seems to think that comparing Steve Jobs to Eddison is a bad idea. Apple has redefined a lot of things. They took a "criminal enterprise" (per the view of the RIAA) and turned it into a mainstream marketing model nearly eliminating CD's (been in a music store lately, a lot smaller than it once was isn't it?) They took a wall sized CD collection and put it on a box about the size of a deck of cards.They made us not only rethink what a phone could be used for, but also rethink how a phone is used. It's no surprise that the Palm Pre, Android, and many of the other aftermarket products have applets that launch from small icons. Remember when phones simply had a number pad? This transition has pushed wireless carriers to focus more on the infrastructure to build higher data rates and more reliable service to handle the influx of network traffic generated from not only the iPhone, but all the aftermarket products to follow on. We're just now starting to see the ability to utilize wireless carriers to replace traditional wired services like cable and phone. (Do you still have a LAN line?) Curious if the wireless carriers would be in this position if there wasn't a massive consumer craze for the iPhone. So is Jobs the same as Eddison? Who knows, but Jobs and the work his company has done has changed several markets permanently, made us rethink how technology is used, and redefined how we are entertained. I have no doubt his legacy will impact us for many years to come. And no, I'm not a fan-boy. Just interested in how technology works, is used, and thought the debate interesting.
4. No way dude at 9:20am 28th September 2010 You are not even close to being correct on this one. Comparing Jobs to Edison is blasphemy to non-fanboy techies. First off, Jobs did not invent anything. Most of what Apple has done, iPod, iPad, Smartphone, were existing idea that they improved upon. Jobs' strength is marketing and business savvy. Anything Apple has garnered credit for inventing, was not invented and prototyped by Jobs himself. They just may through you out of the fanboy club for making that statement, lol. JK
abdul at 11:38am 23rd September 2010 who cares.... for steve, it isn't about money. and I guess it is the same with Mark too. Media always just love to highlight the money stuff.
Cacobartsch at 9:20am 23rd September 2010 There is a mistake on this post... "It’s no surprise that Steve Jobs still reigns supreme on the Forbes 400 list of richest people in America. His estimated wealth valuation is $54 billion." You mean Bill Gates right?!
1. ioman at 10:17am 23rd September 2010 Says Bill Gates to me?
2. @zazenergy at 10:19am 23rd September 2010 Good catch (although I'm sure Steve would love to top that list one day!). The article has been corrected, accordingly.
3. asdf at 6:15am 28th September 2010 haahaha they coverd it up