Mark Zuckerberg facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mark Zuckerberg
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Zuckerberg in 2019
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Mark Elliot Zuckerberg
May 14, 1984 White Plains, New York, U.S.
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| Other names | Zuck |
| Education | Harvard University (dropped out) |
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| Years active | 2004–present |
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| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 3 |
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Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (born May 14, 1984) is an American businessman. He is best known for co-founding Facebook, a popular social media service. He is also the chairman and CEO of Meta Platforms, which is Facebook's parent company.
Zuckerberg briefly attended Harvard College. There, he launched Facebook in February 2004 with his roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes. In May 2012, he made Facebook a public company. He became the world's youngest self-made billionaire in 2008 when he was 23 years old. He is often listed among the world's richest people. Mark Zuckerberg also uses his wealth to support many good causes. He helped start the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a charity organization.
A movie about Zuckerberg's early career and the start of Facebook, called The Social Network, came out in 2010. It won several awards. His quick rise in the technology world has brought him a lot of attention.
Contents
Mark Zuckerberg's Early Life
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg was born on May 14, 1984, in White Plains, New York. His mother, Karen, was a psychiatrist, and his father, Edward, was a dentist. He grew up in Dobbs Ferry, New York, with his three sisters: Arielle, Randi, and Donna.
Mark first went to Ardsley High School. Later, he transferred to Phillips Exeter Academy. While there, he was the captain of the fencing team.
Learning About Computers
Early Programming Skills
Zuckerberg started learning computer programming when he was a child. Around age eleven, he created a program called "ZuckNet." This program allowed computers at his family's home and his father's dental office to talk to each other.
During high school, he worked on a music player called the Synapse Media Player. This device used machine learning to learn what music a user liked to listen to. The New Yorker magazine once said about Zuckerberg, "some kids played computer games. Mark created them." While still in high school, he even took a graduate-level computer course at Mercy University.
College Projects
By the time Zuckerberg started at Harvard in 2002, he was already known as a very talented programmer. He studied psychology and computer science. In his second year, he created a program called CourseMatch. This program helped students choose classes based on what other students were taking. It also helped them form study groups.
Later, he made another program called Facemash. This program let students pick the best-looking person from a choice of photos. His roommate, Arie Hasit, explained that they had "Face Books" with pictures of everyone in the dorms. Mark's site let visitors choose who was "hotter" from two pictures.
The college shut down Facemash quickly because it became too popular. It overloaded Harvard's computer network, stopping other students from using the internet. Also, many students were upset because their photos were used without their permission. Zuckerberg apologized for the site.
Mark Zuckerberg's Career
Starting Facebook
In January 2004, Zuckerberg began writing the code for a new website. On February 4, 2004, he launched "Thefacebook" with his roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes. The idea for "The Facebook" might have come from his old prep school, Phillips Exeter Academy. They had a student directory called "The Photo Address Book," which students called "The Facebook." These photo directories were common at many private schools. They helped students find out about their classmates, like their class year or friends.
Six days after Thefacebook launched, three Harvard students, Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra, said Zuckerberg had used their ideas. They claimed he used their plans for a social network called HarvardConnection.com to build his own site. They complained to the student newspaper, The Harvard Crimson.
The three students later filed a lawsuit against Zuckerberg. They reached an agreement where they received 1.2 million Facebook shares and $20 million in cash.
Facebook started as a "Harvard thing." But Zuckerberg wanted to share it with other schools. He got help from his roommate and co-founder, Dustin Moskovitz. They expanded Facebook to schools like Columbia University, Stanford University, and Yale University.
Zuckerberg decided to leave Harvard during his second year to work on Facebook full-time. He and the other co-founders moved to Palo Alto, California. They rented a small house that became their first office. That summer, Zuckerberg met Peter Thiel, who invested money in the company.
Zuckerberg explained that he wanted to create an "open information flow for people." He believed that media companies owned by large groups were not a good idea. In 2010, he told Wired magazine, "The thing I really care about is the mission, making the world open."
In 2010, Zuckerberg said Facebook had reached 500 million users. He explained that Facebook made enough money and was growing at the right speed. He also said he saw himself as a "hacker." He believed it was "OK to break things" to make them better. Facebook even held "hackathons" where staff could work on new projects overnight.
In 2007, MIT Technology Review named Zuckerberg one of the top 35 innovators under 35. Vanity Fair magazine also named him number 1 on its list of the 100 most influential people in the Information Age in 2010.
On October 1, 2012, Zuckerberg met with the Russian Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, in Moscow. They talked about encouraging social media ideas in Russia and helping Facebook grow there. In 2012, Facebook had about 9 million users in Russia.
At the 2013 TechCrunch Disrupt conference, Zuckerberg said he wanted to connect the 5 billion people who were not yet online. He explained that this goal was part of the Internet.org project. Through this project, Facebook and other tech companies aim to increase internet access worldwide.
Zuckerberg was a main speaker at the 2014 Mobile World Congress in Spain. He talked about how mobile technology is the future of Facebook. He also discussed his goal of bringing internet access to developing countries.
On December 8, 2014, Zuckerberg met with Chinese politician Lu Wei at Facebook's headquarters. This meeting happened after Zuckerberg spoke in Mandarin Chinese at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Even though Facebook is not allowed in China, Zuckerberg is well-respected there.
Zuckerberg receives a one-dollar salary as CEO of Facebook. In 2016, Business Insider named him one of the "Top 10 Business Visionaries." This was because he and his wife promised to give away 99% of their wealth, which was estimated at $55 billion at the time.
On May 25, 2017, Harvard University gave Zuckerberg an honorary degree. He also gave a commencement speech at the graduation ceremony.
In January 2019, Zuckerberg planned to connect the chat systems of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp with end-to-end encrypted messages. By August 2020, Facebook had linked the chat systems for Instagram and Messenger. This allowed users on Instagram and Facebook to communicate with each other more easily.
Other Projects and Ideas
In August 2004, Zuckerberg and his friends launched Wirehog. This was a file-sharing service that allowed people to share files with each other. It was a step towards the Facebook Platform applications that came out in 2007.
In 2013, Zuckerberg started Internet.org. He described it as a project to provide internet access to the five billion people who didn't have it. The project faced some challenges in India. Activists said it went against the idea of net neutrality because it offered limited internet. Zuckerberg argued that some internet was better than no internet. Internet.org was stopped in India in February 2016.
Zuckerberg is also a board member of Breakthrough Starshot. This project is working on developing spacecraft that use solar sails. He co-founded it with Yuri Milner and Stephen Hawking in 2016.
Giving Back: Donations and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Zuckerberg started the Startup:Education foundation. In September 2010, it was reported that he had given $100 million to the public schools in Newark, New Jersey. Some people noted that this donation happened around the same time the movie The Social Network was released. Zuckerberg said he wanted to make the donation anonymously so it wouldn't be linked to the movie.
In 2010, Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett signed The Giving Pledge. In this pledge, they promised to give away at least half of their wealth to charity over time. In December 2012, Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan said they would give most of their wealth to "advancing human potential and promoting equality."
In December 2013, Zuckerberg announced a donation of 18 million Facebook shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. This donation was worth $990 million at the time. It was recognized as the largest charitable gift that year.
In October 2014, Zuckerberg and his wife gave $25 million to help fight the Ebola virus disease. In February 2015, they gave $75 million to the foundation of the San Francisco General Hospital. This was the largest individual donation ever to a U.S. public hospital. The hospital was renamed The Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center to honor them.
On December 1, 2015, the couple promised to give away 99% of their Facebook shares to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI). At that time, these shares were worth $45 billion. The money would be given over their lifetimes. The CZI is set up as a limited liability company (LLC).
In 2016, CZI gave $600 million to create the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. This is a research center in San Francisco. It aims to help scientists from different universities work together. The Biohub encourages scientists to share their research openly.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Zuckerberg donated $25 million to a program looking for treatments for the disease. He also announced $25 million in grants to support local journalism. Facebook also bought $75 million in advertisements in local newspapers.
Mark Zuckerberg and Politics
Zuckerberg registered to vote in 2002 but did not vote until November 2008. He has never publicly shared his political party. In February 2013, Zuckerberg hosted his first fundraising event for then-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. He was interested in education reform. Later that year, he hosted a fundraiser for then-Newark mayor Cory Booker.
On April 11, 2013, Zuckerberg helped launch a group called FWD.us. This group aims to support immigration reform, improve education, and encourage new technology. The group has faced some criticism for its advertising.
In June 2013, Zuckerberg joined Facebook employees in the annual San Francisco Pride parade. Facebook first took part in this event in 2011. The 2013 parade was special because it followed a U.S. Supreme Court decision that supported marriage equality.
When asked about the PRISM surveillance program in September 2013, Zuckerberg said the U.S. government "blew it." He felt the government did not do enough to protect the freedoms of its citizens and companies.
On December 9, 2015, Zuckerberg posted a message on Facebook supporting Muslims. He said that Muslims are "always welcome" on Facebook. He added that, as a Jewish person, his parents taught him to stand up against attacks on any community.
On February 24, 2016, Zuckerberg sent a memo to Facebook employees. He told them off for crossing out "Black Lives Matter" phrases on company walls and writing "All Lives Matter." He said this act was disrespectful and "malicious." He explained that "Black Lives Matter" means asking for justice for the black community.
In January 2017, Zuckerberg spoke out against Donald Trump's order to limit immigrants and refugees from some countries.
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In Donald Trump's book Save America, published in September 2024, he wrote about Zuckerberg's visits to the White House. Two months later, they had dinner at the Mar-a-Lago resort. Zuckerberg aimed to improve his and his company's relationship with Trump after Trump won the election. Around the same time, Meta reportedly gave $1 million to a fund related to Trump.
When he was younger, Zuckerberg supported causes like immigration reform and social justice. He was generally seen as leaning towards liberal views. However, in August 2024, Zuckerberg said he regretted not doing more to resist pressure from the Biden administration to remove content about COVID-19. He also said he would no longer donate to election-related infrastructure. As of 2024, Zuckerberg has been discouraging employee activism at Facebook. According to The New York Times, he has privately described his political views as leaning towards libertarianism or classical liberalism.
Mark Zuckerberg's Personal Life
Marriage and Family
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Zuckerberg met Priscilla Chan at a party when he was a student at Harvard. They started dating in 2003. In September 2010, Chan, who was studying medicine, moved into his rented house in Palo Alto, California. They got married on May 19, 2012, at his mansion. This event also celebrated her graduation from medical school.
In July 2015, Zuckerberg shared that they were expecting a baby girl. He also said that Chan had experienced miscarriages before. Their first daughter was born in December 2015. They announced that her Chinese name is Chen Mingyu. Their second daughter was born in August 2017. Zuckerberg and his wife welcomed their third daughter in March 2023. The couple also have a Puli dog named Beast, who has many followers on Facebook.
Beliefs and Hobbies
Zuckerberg was born and raised in a Reform Jewish home. He later said he was an atheist. However, in 2016, he said, "I went through a period where I questioned things, but now I believe religion is very important." In 2017, he and his wife started a tour to visit every state in the U.S. They wanted to learn more about the people who use Facebook. He met with farmers and business owners. He also spoke at Mother Emanuel, where a shooting happened in 2015.
In 2022, Zuckerberg started training in mixed martial arts (MMA) and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ). He enjoys these sports very much. He competed in a BJJ tournament on May 6, 2023. He won both a silver and a gold medal. In July 2023, he was promoted to blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Four months later, Zuckerberg announced he was getting ready for his MMA debut. However, he injured his knee during training and needed surgery, which delayed his plans.
See also
In Spanish: Mark Zuckerberg para niños
- Mark Zuckerberg book club
