Zuckerberg Drops Off Billionaires List

Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg is no longer among the top 40 richest people in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Zuckerberg’s wealth fell to $14.7 billion on Tuesday from $16.2 billion on May 25, as shares of his newly listed company plunged 9.6 per cent to $28.84. The 28-year-old was replaced on the index by Mexican billionaire Luis Carlos Sarmiento.

Social networking site Facebook’s much-hyped IPO fell flat when it opened on May 18, with shares closing only 23 cents above their opening price of $38, valuing the company at $104.2 billion.

Since then, its shares have been progressively losing value, with the company’s market capitalisation decreasing $25 billion in its first seven days of trading.

Along with the poor market performance, Facebook and the investment banks that led its IPO have also been hit by investor lawsuits.

Investors allege that analysts at the investment banks, including Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter of the IPO, cut their financial forecasts for Facebook just before the launch, but that these changes were disclosed only to certain preferred investors.

Facebook has called the lawsuits “without merit.”