Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is now officially a centibillionaire. This means that the Facebook owner is now worth $100 billion, at least. Amid pandemic wherein the economy is not working pretty well, this is a magnificent jump from his net worth. All thanks to a surprising factor like the Aug. 6 TikTok ban. Here's why.
Welcome to the centibillionaires' club, Zuckerberg
The 36-year-old Facebook CEO is now richer than before. On Friday, Aug. 7, CNN reported that Zuckerberg has finally surpassed its net worth into becoming a $100 billion-worth tech CEO.
This means that Zuckerberg is now joining Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Microsoft founder Bill Gates into the home of centibillionaires' club.
According to Bloomberg Billionaires' Index, Zuckerberg gained nearly 30% in 2020, resulting in an additional $22 billion to his net worth.
This news is actually a surprising one. Since the COVID-19 pandemic happened, the United States has already been facing a recession due to the impact of the virus. In fact, a global recession may even be expected until 2024, according to studies.
But all these things seemed to be more beneficial for the multi-billionaire. So, how did he make it?
Thanks to China!
On Thursday night, Aug. 6, the U.S. President Donald Trump finally signed the Executive Order documents, applying the rule of the TikTok ban in the country. It was argued that the Chinese apps pose a threat to the country's national security, therefore needing to be removed.
"The spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned by companies in the People's Republic of China continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States," the executive order reads.
Meanwhile, ByteDance has also released their statement about the issue, saying that they were shocked by the sudden announcement. Zuckerberg even said that he was 'really worried' about the TikTok ban.
"I just think it's a really bad long-term precedent, and that it needs to be handled with the utmost care and gravity whatever the solution is," he reportedly said. "I am really worried...it could very well have long-term consequences in other countries around the world."
Though this was bad news for the Chinese company, Zuckerberg's pockets may be delighted with this news.
Here comes Zuckerberg's TikTok copycat
One of the biggest factors for how the Facebook CEO received the $100 billion, is through its TikTok-like app called Reels.
As Tech Times reported, Instagram Reels has the same function as TikTok. It allows users to create short videos that you can edit, put the filter, and anything you like.
When the TikTok banned was announced, Facebook's stocks increased to 6.5% on Thursday.
