Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Pivot Has Put Him In Deep Waters; Is His Reign Over?

It’s a widely known fact that Meta, formerly known as Facebook, CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s punt on metaverse is yet to reap fruits. The billionaire’s wealth has gone down by a colossal $71 billion, bringing his fortune to $55.9 billion this year, reports Bloomberg. He has also exited the list of the top 10 richest people on the planet, standing at the 20th spot.

While the current wealth isn’t a less amount, this is the lowest spot he has occupied in almost a decade, suggesting his fall from the top. Just two years ago, he was the third wealthiest person on the planet, having almost twice his current net worth, the report suggests.

Is Meta Pivot The Cause?

It’s imperative to note that 2022 hasn’t been kind on global markets and other tech titans have also felt the heat. But even Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates haven’t lost that kind of money. This shows how the Meta pivot has landed Mark Zuckerberg in deep waters.

Facebook’s recent highest valuation came in September last year, just a month before Zuckerberg announced a new name for the company and pivoted towards the metaverse. Since then, the company has doubled its focus on the concept which isn’t functioning at its full potential and requires Meta’s virtual reality hardware to use.

In simpler words, the pivot hasn’t gone down well with investors. Some experts even suggest that Mark Zuckerberg is destroying his own company.

"I think Facebook is not going to do well as long as he's there," Bill George, Harvard expert, told CNBC. "He's likely one of the reasons so many people are turning away from the company. He's really lost his way."

Disappointing Annual Earnings

As a result of this self-inflicted era of the metaverse, Meta’s finances have taken a major hit. Bloomberg’s report called the social media giant’s earnings reports “dismal,” with TikTok gaining more users than Meta’s Instagram.

Zuckerberg’s future depends on how Meta performs in the coming days, as a majority of his net worth is in stocks of the company. He owns millions of shares, making him the most powerful member of the board.

Only time will tell if Mark Zuckerberg will be able to pull off something meaningful out of the metaverse, proving the investors wrong and turning the company’s fortunes again. Zuckerberg’s next move? Well, his company is expected to release a new VR headset next month.