Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's net worth and how he spends his millions

The 33-year-old Facebook founder and CEO devotes a lot of his wealth to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative but he also splurges on real estate

Mark Zuckerberg, the 33-year-old founder and CEO of Facebook, has a net worth of $74 billion and counting.

He's the fifth-richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index, but it seems he doesn't have a taste for opulence, especially when it comes to cars, clothes, and travel.

As a member of the Giving Pledge and co-founder of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which he started with his wife and college sweetheart, Priscilla Chan, the Harvard dropout has dedicated much of his fortune to charitable causes.

Keep reading to find out exactly how Zuckerberg and Chan spend their billions.

In May 2012, eight years after its founding, Facebook debuted on the New York Stock Exchange. At the time, it was the biggest technology IPO in history. Each year since then, Zuckerberg has added an average of $9 billion to his net worth.

Mark Zuckerberg's profile picture, which you've almost certainly seen before (Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook)

Despite his status as one of the richest tech moguls, the Harvard dropout leads a low-key lifestyle with his wife, Priscilla Chan, and their two young daughters.

Like many other Silicon Valley stalwarts, Zuckerberg favours a uniform. Though casual in appearance, his signature gray T-shirts and hoodies are designed by luxury brands and are reportedly much more expensive than they look, retailing for hundreds and even thousands of dollars.

Zuckerberg is known for driving relatively inexpensive cars. He's been seen in an Acura TSX, a Volkswagen hatchback, and a Honda Fit, all of which are valued at or under $30,000.

There's one thing Zuckerberg doesn't seem to mind splurging on: real estate. In May 2011, he bought a 5,000-square-foot home — which he's since tricked out with a “custom-made artificially intelligent assistant” — in Palo Alto for $7 million. The next year, he began buying the properties surrounding his home, spending more than $30 million to acquire four homes, with plans to level them and rebuild.

He also owns a townhouse in the Mission District of San Francisco. He bought the 5,500-square-foot home in 2013 and proceeded to make over $1 million in renovations, including adding a greenhouse and remodelling the kitchen.

(Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook)

In 2014, the billionaire's real-estate portfolio jumped the Pacific when he spent $100 million on two properties on the island of Kauai: the Kahu'aina Plantation, a 357-acre former sugarcane plantation, and Pila'a Beach, a 393-acre property with a white-sand beach. Zuckerberg said he and Chan bought the land because they're “dedicated to preserving its natural beauty.”

Zuckerberg doesn't appear to travel much for pleasure. But when he does travel, Facebook foots the bill. Zuckerberg's security detail and transportation cost the company nearly $5 million in 2015.

(Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook)

It's likely the costs will be much higher this year, after Zuckerberg spent the summer traversing America as part of his personal goal to visit every US state in 2017. On his whirlwind tour, the CEO dined with a family at their home in Ohio, met with former opioid addicts, worked on an assembly line at a Ford factory, met with members of the military, and even fed a calf.

Zuckerberg shared photos on Facebook of his experiences in America's heartland, and he seemed right at home. Ultimately, opulence and luxury are just a blip on Zuckerberg's radar. In fact, his main priority is giving his money away, rather than spending it.

(Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook)

Zuckerberg is a member of the Giving Pledge, joining Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and over 100 other billionaires vowing to donate the majority their wealth to philanthropy. He plans to sell 99% of his Facebook shares during his lifetime.

Zuckerberg has complete control over Facebook's future, thanks to his majority voting rights. Facebook's stock price has risen over 50% since April 2016, and Zuckerberg has said he plans to accelerate selling shares to fund The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. He plans to sell 35 to 75 million shares over the next 18 months, totaling between $6 billion and $12 billion.

(Mark Zuckerg/Facebook)

Some of his Facebook shares will go toward the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a philanthropic organisation he founded with his wife in 2015 focused on “personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people, and building strong communities.”

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is tackling both local and global issues. Last year, Zuckerberg and Chan invested $3 billion into research focused on curing the world's diseases by the end of the century. Earlier in 2017, it partnered with housing startup Landed, giving $5 million to help at least 60 teachers in Redwood City and East Palo Alto, California, purchase real estate.

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