The journey to Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse has not been easy. His once risky gamble, which cost him more than $100 billion, appears to be paying off now.
His net worth has increased dramatically to $201 billion in less than two years, almost sixfold. Meta Platforms Inc.’s soaring stock price, which has risen roughly 60% this year alone, is primarily driving this rise.
Consequently, Zuckerberg is once again the fourth richest person in the world, only behind Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault and Elon Musk.
The metaverse: a mix of things
Despite these staggering figures, the metaverse remains plagued by controversy. While Zuckerberg maintains that it is the future of social interaction, many remain skeptical about it.
Some skeptics think Meta’s performance produced more losses than gains. Some critics have argued that Zuckerberg’s fortune has lain less in the metaverse concept itself than in his efforts to benefit from recent advances in AI.
Curiously, Goal made enormous financial stabilization efforts. This includes the start of its $50 billion share buyback program and also reduced 25% of its workforce in order to streamline the organization.
A change of focus?
Zuckerberg continued to support the metaverse despite financial problems. He passionately discussed the integration of real and virtual worlds at recent events, imagining a period in which people will communicate through holograms or avatars.
However, some shareholders and insiders recommend caution. They have expressed reservations about investing more funds in what many consider a project that is still far from being widely accepted.
Additionally, there is a growing belief that Zuckerberg should focus on Meta’s core apps, which generate almost all of the company’s revenue: Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
As the tech sector becomes more competitive, especially as rivals like Google and Amazon make significant inroads in artificial intelligence— Zuckerberg may want to rethink his goals.
Thinking about the future
As Meta continues to introduce new products, such as the Quest 3 VR headset and Ray-Ban smart glasses, these innovations should eventually help the company increase its revenue.
Still, many investors who would prefer to see profits sooner rather than later harbor deep skepticism. The future prosperity of the company will fundamentally depend on its ability to include new technologies in its current systems.
Featured image from Fortune, TradingView chart
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