Mark Zuckerberg made $25 billion in a day and ranked among the richest people in the world

Mark Zuckerberg added about US$ 25 billion to his fortune in a single day following the sharp rise in Meta shares.

The nearly 12% increase in the company's stock was related to new expectations regarding artificial intelligence and the upcoming Meta Connect 2026.

Why Mark Zuckerberg made US$ 25 billion in one day

Meta Platforms shares rose nearly 12% on Monday. In the early hours of trading, the increase had already represented an additional US$ 12.9 billion for Zuckerberg's net worth.

By noon, the surge accelerated, bringing Mark Zuckerberg's estimated daily gain to US$ 25 billion.

The increase was driven by improved investor expectations regarding Meta's artificial intelligence business and a new estimate from Wells Fargo.

How much Mark Zuckerberg's fortune increased

With this rise, Mark Zuckerberg's net worth reached about US$ 253.6 billion. The founder of Facebook ranked sixth on Forbes' real-time billionaire list.

Zuckerberg was positioned behind Sergey Brin, whose fortune was around US$ 268.1 billion. The daily increase for the Facebook creator surpassed the fluctuations recorded among the top ten positions.

Among those movements was the increase of US$ 12 billion attributed to Elon Musk.

What Wells Fargo said about Meta's stocks

Part of the market reaction came after Wells Fargo raised its price target for Meta to US$ 796 per share.

The new estimate was above the previous US$ 640. The bank maintained its “overweight” recommendation ahead of Meta Connect 2026.

What the market expects from Meta Connect 2026

For analysts at Wells Fargo, Muse's usage statistics will be one of the metrics to watch during Meta Connect.

The event is scheduled for September 23 and 24. There, Meta's shift towards AI, agent software, and smart devices could become clearer.

Among the mentioned innovations are possible new smart glasses and future Muse features related to this type of hardware.

How Meta's bet on artificial intelligence has unfolded

Meta's artificial intelligence strategy began years ago. The company created Facebook AI Research in 2013 and introduced the Llama language model in 2023.

Meta has also incorporated AI tools into WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook. Additionally, it has allocated tens of billions of dollars to Nvidia chips and the development of its own processors.

Why Meta's stock affects Zuckerberg's fortune so much

Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook at the age of 19 and took the company public in 2012. He currently holds about 13% of Meta's shares.

Due to this stake, significant fluctuations in the stock price result in multimillion-dollar variations in his personal wealth.

Mark Zuckerberg described Muse as a step towards delivering “personal superintelligence” on Meta's platforms.