Mark Zuckerberg is a renowned American entrepreneur and philanthropist, best known as the co-founder and CEO of Meta Platforms, previously Facebook.
Training: A Harvard University drop-out, Mark Zuckerberg studied psychology and computer science, but did not earn his degree until 12 years later.
Career:
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg was born on May 14, 1984 to Edward Zuckerberg, a dentist, and Karen Zuckerberg, a psychiatrist, in White Plains, New York. Developing an interest in computers at a young age, Zuckerberg created a messaging program called ‘Zucknet’ when he was 12. His father used the program in his office, so the secretary could message him when a patient showed up. To develop his interest further, his parents hired a private computer tutor to teach him one a week. Later Zuckerberg studied at the exclusive private school Phillips Exeter Academy, where he excelled in fencing and literature, but remained steadfastly interested in computers. While in high school he created an early version of Pandora, a music software system called Synapse. Although Microsoft and AOL were interested in buying it, he declined the offer. After graduating Exeter in 2000, Zuckerberg enrolled and was accepted into Harvard University. At Harvard he created a program called CourseMatch, which helped students find which course they should study, and FaceMash, a program which compared the photos of two students side-by-side and allowed others to vote on who was more attractive. The latter became extremely popular and was shut down by the school administration for being inappropriate.
Due to Zuckerberg’s popularity with creating computer programs, students Divya Narendra, and twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, came to Zuckerberg with the idea of a social networking site called Harvard Connection. The site being designed to use information from the Harvard student network to create a dating site for the Harvard elite. Zuckerberg agreed to work on the project, but then dropped out to work on his own social networking site with friends Dustin Moskovitz, Eduardo Saverin and Chris Hughes. Together they created a site that allowed people to upload their own photos and information and communicate with each other. This was the beginning of Facebook, at the time called The Facebook, and it was run out of the student’s dorm room until June 2004. At this point, Zuckerberg decided to drop out of college and devote himself entirely to Facebook, moving the company to Palo Alto in California. By the end of 2004, Facebook had over 1 million users.
Under Zuckerberg’s leadership, Facebook grew into a global social media giant, connecting billions of people worldwide. Known for his vision of making the world more open and connected, he expanded the company’s portfolio to include acquisitions like Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus VR. In 2021, he rebranded the company to Meta, reflecting its focus on building the metaverse, an immersive virtual environment.
Despite his professional success, Zuckerberg has faced scrutiny over privacy issues, misinformation, and the platform’s societal impact. He has also gained attention for his philanthropic efforts, including the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which he founded with his wife, Priscilla Chan, to advance education, healthcare, and scientific research.
Zuckerberg is often portrayed as a reserved yet determined leader, balancing his role as a tech pioneer with his vision for shaping the future of digital interactions.
Anecdotes
“When you give everyone a voice and give people power, the system usually ends up in a really good place. So, what we view our role as, is giving people that power.” Mark Zuckerberg