Mark Zuckerberg Loses $16.8bn In Two Hours As Facebook Plunges

Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune tumbled by $16.8 billion in late trading Wednesday as Facebook shares slid 20 percent in post-market trading in New York on disappointing results.

According to Bloomberg, if that holds through Thursday’s close, he will slide to sixth place from third on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. It would also wipe his $13.7 billion of gains for the year, leaving him with just less than $70 billion.

Second-quarter revenue and average daily visitors fell short of analysts’ estimates, according to a company statement. Revenue increased 42 percent to $13.2 billion, missing the $13.3 billion Wall Street consensus.

Shares plunged as much as 24 per cent after Chief Financial Officer (CFO) David Wehner said revenue growth rates would decline in the third and fourth quarters.

For many of the world’s richest people, losing $16.8 billion in a day would be a wipeout. For Zuckerberg, it’s just a fifth of his net worth.

The company is grappling with new data laws in Europe, criticism over its content policies and privacy issues.