Zuckerberg Falls in Billionaire Ranks After Meta AI Shock

Mark Zuckerberg slipped two spots on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index this week, falling to fifth place with a net worth of $235 billion after Meta’s stock plunged 11%.

The sell-off came after Meta announced plans for a $30 billion bond sale and projected capital spending of up to $118 billion in 2026 to fund its growing AI infrastructure — the largest investment in the company’s history.

The market reaction was swift: Zuckerberg lost about $29 billion overnight — one of the biggest one-day declines ever recorded by Bloomberg’s wealth index. Meanwhile, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Google co-founder Larry Page climbed past him as their companies posted strong earnings on the back of cloud and AI growth.

The sharp drop for Meta signals investor unease over whether tech firms are overspending on AI capacity that may take years to pay off.

Analysts say Zuckerberg’s AI bet could either cement Meta as a leader in next-generation computing — or prove an expensive overreach if returns don’t materialize quickly.