Mark Zuckerberg's Salary: A $1 CEO Mystery

Mark Zuckerberg's Earnings as Facebook CEO

Running the vast Facebook empire is one of the most challenging roles today, given the platform's ongoing battle against fake news, political interference, and data privacy issues.

You might assume such a demanding position would come with a generous salary, but that’s not the case for Facebook’s CEO.

Mark Zuckerberg's Salary: How Much Does the Facebook CEO Earn?

According to Facebook’s annual proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mark Zuckerberg currently receives a base salary of just $1, making him the lowest-paid employee at Facebook.

The statement from 2018 notes, "No executive officer was involved in setting their own compensation package, except for our CEO, who has requested that his base salary be fixed at $1 per year."

Zuckerberg has had this symbolic salary since 2013, when he decided to forgo his $500,000 base salary.

In addition, Zuckerberg chose not to participate in the company’s bonus or equity schemes in 2017.

How Does Zuckerberg’s Salary Compare to Other Tech Leaders?

Zuckerberg is among a growing group of tech CEOs who earn a symbolic $1 a year. This practice, which ensures that full-time employees receive some form of compensation, has been around since the early 1900s but has gained traction in recent years.

Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P., and Donald Trump have both also chosen a $1 salary. This trend has become more common with the rise of tech stock values.

Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have received $1 salaries since the company's IPO in 2004. Similarly, Jack Dorsey of Twitter earns $1.40 annually, despite his smaller fortune compared to Zuckerberg.

Other notable $1 tech CEOs include Jeremy Stoppelman of Yelp, Meg Whitman of Hewlett Packard, and Larry Ellison of Oracle.

Mark Zuckerberg's Net Worth: A Growing Fortune

Despite his minimal salary, Zuckerberg's wealth continues to grow significantly. As reported by Forbes, he is the 8th richest person in the world, with a net worth of $62.3 billion. This places him just behind Oracle’s Larry Ellison and ahead of Google’s Larry Page.

In the past decade, Zuckerberg’s net worth has increased by $58.3 billion, averaging about $5.83 billion annually. However, this amount can vary greatly; for example, he added $15 billion to his wealth in 2017, followed by an $8.7 billion loss in 2018 due to various issues like the Cambridge Analytica scandal and a significant data breach.

How Does Mark Zuckerberg Make Money?

Zuckerberg's primary source of income is shares. He owns approximately 28% of Facebook’s publicly traded Class A shares. With the share price currently at $178, his holdings are valued at around $1.55 billion.

The greater value, however, lies in Zuckerberg’s Class B shares. Facebook uses a dual-class share structure where Class B shares, held by Zuckerberg and other executives, have ten votes per share compared to one vote for Class A shares. Consequently, although Zuckerberg owns 28% of Facebook’s shares, he controls 59.9% of the voting power within the company.

As Aaron Boyd, director of governance at Equilar, explained, “The $1 salary symbolizes that they have significant stakes in their company. Their true compensation comes from the value of their stock.”