Only these 2 CEOs make Zuckerberg look poor
Mark Zuckerberg plans to give away 99% of his $45 billion fortune in Facebook (FB), probably figuring he'll still be fabulously wealthy. He's right - but it's amazing how right he is.
Just two current CEOs of companies in the Standard & Poor's 500, Warren Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) and Jeffrey Bezos of Amazon.com (AMZN), hold shares in their companies worth more than Zuckerberg's stake in Facebook, according to a Paste BN analysis of data from S&P Capital IQ. Buffett and Bezos' stakes are valued at $61.7 billion and $56.2 billion, respectively, according to a Paste BN analysis of data from S&P Capital IQ.
That's not to belittle the move by Zuckerberg, who last week showed off photos of his new baby, a big life-changing event that sparked all the talk about his fortune's future. Here are some numbers to put the vast size of Zuckerberg's fortune into perspective, even among the ranks of CEOs:
* Zuckerberg is already a titan. Zuckerberg's ownership in Facebook alone account for 17% of all the value current CEOs hold in their own companies' shares, based on S&P Capital IQ data.
* Even 1% of Zuckerberg's wealth is still staggering. Even after giving away 99% of his Facebook holdings, Zuckerberg's remaining stake is worth $453.9 million. That remaining 1% stake is larger than all but 24 of CEOs total stakes in their companies among the S&P 500. Zuckerberg's stake is also just below the average $536.6 million position held by the current CEOs that have reported their holdings.
* Zuckerberg's big ownership has paid off. Facebook might be worth 44% less than its chief rival, Alphabet. But Zuckerberg has maintained a 15% stake in Facebook, while Alphabet's Larry Page has just a 6.3% stake in Alphabet. That means Zuckerberg's holding in Facebook worth much more than Page's $33.3 billion stake in Alphabet.
* Wealth is concentrated - even in the CEO world. Just four CEOs -- Buffett, Bezos, Zuckerberg and Page -- have holdings in their companies worth $30 billion or more. CEOs' holdings drop off after that. The median holding of S&P 500 CEOs in their company stock, or the midpoint between the highest and the lowest stakes, is $17.8 million.
Zuckerberg certainly has lofty goals for the money he's giving away: It's a fortune that puts him among the CEO legends.
S&P 500 CEOS WITH THE MOST VALUABLE STAKES IN THEIR COMPANIES
CEO, Company, Symbol, Value of CEO holdings ($ bils.)
Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, BRK.A, $61.7
Jeffrey Bezos, Amazon.com, AMZN, $56.2
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook, FB, $45.4
Lawrence Page, Alphabet, GOOGL, $33.3
Stefano Pessina, Walgreens Boots Alliance, WBA, $17.9
Kevin Plank, Under Armour, UA, $3.1
Marc Benioff, salesforce.com, CRM, $3.0
Frederick Smith, FedEx, FDX, $2.9
Howard Schultz, Starbucks, SBUX, $2.4
Leslie Wexner, L Brands, LB, $2.3
Source: S&P Captial IQ based on most recently reported common equivalent shares, Paste BN research