Zuckerberg?s Wealth Soars $3.8 Billion as Facebook Surges

[Heath]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-0...ok-surges.html

Mark Zuckerberg?s fortune soared $3.8 billion yesterday as shares of Facebook Inc. (FB), the world?s most-popular social-networking service, rallied 30 percent to the highest level since May 2012.

Surging demand for mobile advertising helped profit and revenue top analysts? estimates in the second quarter Wednesday. The earnings may quell concerns, voiced by analysts and investors since Facebook?s initial public offering last year, that the rising popularity of smartphones and tablets is outpacing its ability to make money selling promotions to mobile users.

?Very few people saw the pace at which the entire activity of the planet?s Internet connectivity was going to move toward mobile,? said David Kirkpatrick, author of ?The Facebook Effect,? a history of the company, in a telephone interview. ?It?s clearly under way now.?

The gain pushed Zuckerberg, Facebook?s 29-year-old co-founder and chief executive officer, ahead of Microsoft Inc. CEO Steve Ballmer and Dell Inc. (DELL) chairman Michael Dell on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Zuckerberg is No. 42 on the ranking with a net worth of $16.8 billion. His fortune is up 37 percent year-to-date.

Revenue rose 53 percent to $1.81 billion in the latest quarter, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Profit excluding certain items was 19 cents a share. Analysts had projected profit of 14 cents on sales of $1.62 billion on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

[CAHEK]

its about time