Mark Zuckerberg's net worth spikes a record $12.5 billion as Meta's cost-cutting plans send shares soaring

Gains in Meta's share prices are boosting Mark Zuckerberg's net worth this year so far.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

• Mark Zuckerberg's net worth increased by roughly $12 billion in a single day thanks to Thursday gains in Meta shares.
• Meta shares are up over 50% this year after surging over 20% on Thursday.
• Meta shares were boosted by the company's announcement that it will continue to cut costs this year.

Mark Zuckerberg's cost-cutting measures for Meta have borne fruits for investors — and himself — as the company's share price surged 23% on Thursday.

The Thursday increase adds to Meta stock's winning streak, taking its gains to over 50% this year. Zuckerberg saw his net worth grow by a record $12.5 billion in a single day as Meta shares hit an intraday trading high of $197.16 on Thursday.

Since most of Zuckerberg's wealth is tied to his Meta shares, his roughly $12 billion single-day increase in net worth brings the value of his fortune to $69.8 billion as of Friday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, where he is in the 21st spot.

The rise in Zuckerberg's fortune is impressive because it put him in the fourth spot in terms of year-to-date gains behind fellow billionaires Elon Musk, Bernard Arnault, and Jeff Bezos,, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Even so, this is a far cry from early 2022, when Zuckerberg started the year with a $125 billion fortune.

The massive slump in Zuckerberg's wealth last year mirrored a massive decline in Meta's share price, which lost about two-thirds of its value in 2022 after Facebook reported a fall in its daily active user numbers for the first time ever amid a massive strategic pivot.

In November, Zuckerberg announced mass layoffs that affected about 13% of its workforce and implemented other cost-cutting measures, like closing offices. On Wednesday, Meta said it will continue to tighten its belts in 2023.

"It's been a rapid phase-change, to take a step back and say, 'Ok, we can't treat everything like it's hyper growth,'" Zuckerberg said on a fourth-quarter earnings call with Wall Street analysts on Wednesday, according to a transcript. "We have a lot of things now that a lot of people use and that support a large amount of business and we should operate somewhat differently."

Meta expects capital expenditures to fall by $4 billion this year, the company said in a press release.

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Substitute for Fennel Seed?

I’m making a roasted beet & carrot salad. The dressing recipe calls for toasted fennel seed. Would caraway seed provide a similar flavor as a substitute for the fennel seed?

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Trump's new label for Ron DeSantis, 'RINO globalist,' has roots in a far-right conspiracy theory about an insidious global network of powerful people

Former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Alon Skuy/AFP via Getty Images and Scott Olson/Getty Images

• Trump has a new label for Ron DeSantis: "RINO globalist." 
• The term "RINO" means "Republican in name only" and was previously reserved for Trump's biggest foes.
• Meanwhile, "globalist" has its roots in a far-right conspiracy theory.

Former President Donald Trump has a new label for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: "RINO Globalist."

"The real Ron is a RINO GLOBALIST, who closed quickly down Florida and even its beaches. Loved the Vaccines and wasted big money on 'Testing.' How quickly people forget!," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.

Far-right conspiracy theorists use the word "globalist" to refer to a fringe, anti-semitic conspiracy theory about a cabal of elite individuals secretly controlling the world. Trump's insult is a thinly-veiled accusation that DeSantis is part of this global network of powerful, evil people. Trump did not give any evidence to substantiate the claim. 

As for the term RINO, or "Republican in name only," that's an insult Trump reserves for his GOP political foes. He called former Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger "horrible RINOs" in February 2022 because they took seats on the January 6 committee investigating the Capitol riot.

The new insult marks a continuation of Trump's recent attacks on DeSantis. On Saturday, Trump called DeSantis "very disloyal" for contemplating a 2024 run against him.

"So then when I hear he might run, you know, I consider that very disloyal," Trump told reporters on board his plane, per CNN. "But, it's not about loyalty — to me it is, it's always about loyalty. But for a lot of people, it's not about that." 

The Trump-DeSantis drama is heating up

Trump announced his 2024 presidential run in November. DeSantis has not yet announced a run, but that has not stopped Trump from going on the offensive.

In November, Trump dubbed the governor "Ron DeSanctimonious" during a rally and blasted him as "average" on social media.

In January, Trump said he will "handle" DeSantis if the governor decides to launch a 2024 presidential bid. 

DeSantis has refrained from exchanging tit-for-tat insults with Trump. In November, DeSantis told people to "chill out" about the prospect of a GOP civil war between him and the former president.

On Tuesday, the governor finally acknowledged the onslaught of insults from Trump.

"I roll out of bed, I have people attacking me from all angles, it's been happening for many, many years," DeSantis said during a press conference in response to a question about Trump's attacks, per Politico. 

"The good thing is, is that the people are able to render a judgment on that whether they re-elect you or not," DeSantis added. "And I'm happy to say — you know, in my case — not only did we win re-election, we won with the highest percentage of the vote that any Republican governor candidate has had in the history of the state of Florida." 

Speaking to The Hill this week, Stephen Lawson, a political strategist who worked for DeSantis in 2018, said DeSantis is making a good move by just letting Trump "self-implode."

"Nobody has done more to hurt Donald Trump than himself and I think Gov. DeSantis is absolutely taking the right tact here, by completely ignoring Trump and letting him throw boomerangs," Lawson told The Hill. 

Representatives for DeSantis and Trump did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment. 

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Facebook, still the largest social media platform in the world, eclipses 2 billion daily active users for the first time.

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How to avoid chicken’s taste and texture?

I was raised vegetarian but I really need more protein for lower prices than vegetarian options and I’m so tired of beans. The issue is that I really don’t like the taste or texture of meat. I can’t chew or swallow if it has stringy bits or tastes like meat, even chicken. The only real ways I’ve been able to like chicken so far have been super processed, like boneless “wings” from fast food and chicken nuggets with lots of sauce.

I want to be able to cook chicken on my own and I’m not sure what processes or cuts to use since there aren’t a lot of sources online for making chicken with as little flavor and texture as possible. Any recommendations?

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Google is asking employees to test potential ChatGPT competitors, including a chatbot called 'Apprentice Bard'

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Marine veteran who boasted about assaulting police officers with chemical spray on Jan. 6 is sentenced to more than 5 years

Daniel Caldwell was sentenced to 68 months in prison.

Department of Justice

• A Marine veteran was sentenced to more than 5 years in prison on a Jan. 6 charge on Wednesday.
• Daniel Caldwell, 51, has been in pre-trial custody since he was arrested in Feb. 2021.
• Prosecutors say he was caught on camera assaulting police officers and later bragging about it.

A Marine veteran who was caught on camera assaulting a line of police officers with a chemical irritant on Jan. 6, and later bragged about the attack in a video interview was sentenced to more than five years in prison on Wednesday in one of the steepest sentences stemming from the insurrection thus far.

Daniel Caldwell, 51, of Texas, has spent nearly the last two years in pretrial custody after he was arrested on six counts related to the riot in February 2021. Caldwell pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting police officers with a deadly weapon in September 2022.

US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Caldwell to 68 months in prison on Wednesday, as well as $2,000 in restitution for damage to the Capitol. Prosecutors had requested 70 months. 

Prosecutors say a YouTube video posted on January 2021 shows Caldwell "spraying a mist" at police who were trying to defend the building from rioters. In a separate video, Caldwell discussed the assault, telling the person behind the camera that he "got like 15 of them," referring to the officers.

—Jordan Fischer (@JordanOnRecord) August 13, 2021

 

In court on Wednesday, Caldwell offered a tearful apology while expressing remorse for his behavior on Jan. 6, according to Politico, asking the judge for mercy and describing the ways in which he has tried to better himself in the two years since the attack, including through reading self-help books while in custody.

Kollar-Kotelly, however, refused to yield, calling Caldwell an insurrectionist several times during the hearing, according to the outlet, and saying his use of the chemical irritant nearly broke the police line and left several officers with psychological and physical trauma. 

"I must face my actions head-on," Caldwell said in court on Wednesday, per Politico. "I hope that you and our country never have to face another day like January 6th."

Robert L. Jenkins, an attorney for Caldwell, told Insider that he and his client understand the judge's motivations in handing down such a steep sentence, but believe 68 months was "much higher than what it needed to be," both in light of Caldwell's individual conduct and other sentences that have been imposed in similar cases.

Caldwell will receive credit for the nearly two years he has already spent in custody.

"Being a Marine, I should have known better. … I wish I could take it back, but I can't," he reportedly said.

At least 978 people have been charged in connection with the attack thus far, and more than 470 people have pleaded guilty. 

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