Mark Zuckerberg Earns over $5bn Billion as Facebook Becomes $1 Trillion Company

Mark Zuckerberg, the Chief Executive Officer of Facebook, had 5 billion reasons to smile as the social media became the youngest company to reach a $1 trillion valuation at the close of Monday trading.

The founder of the world’s most popular social media is now estimated to be worth $132 billion after posting daily gains of about $5.2 billion as the social media juggernaut hit a new milestone. Zuckerberg holds about $3.28 billion in cash (2.48% of his net wealth).

The tech magnate is currently the world's fifth wealthiest man alive and has gained $28.7 billion this year, as the southpaw business leader plans to give away 99% of his Facebook shares over his lifetime.

Facebook Inc.'s shares jumped after an antitrust victory helped push its market value above $1 trillion, making the social-media giant the fastest company to reach the milestone.

Facebook shares rose 4.2% on Monday to $355.64, the most in two months, after a judge granted its request to dismiss two complaints filed last year by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general.

Facebook derives nearly all of its revenue from personalized advertisements that are shown to users of the Facebook and Instagram social networks. The company also has a burgeoning hardware business where it is building products like the Portal video-calling device, Oculus virtual-reality headsets, and smart glasses, which are set to be released sometime in 2021.

The company held its initial public offering in May 2012, debuting with a market cap of $104 billion — the largest-ever technology IPO at the time.