Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (/ˈzʌkərbɜːrɡ/; born May 14, 1984) is an American businessman who co-founded the social media service Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms, of which he is the chairman, chief executive officer, and controlling shareholder. Zuckerberg has been the subject of multiple lawsuits regarding the creation and ownership of the website as well as issues such as user privacy.
Zuckerberg briefly attended Harvard College, where he launched Facebook in February 2004 with his roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes. Zuckerberg took the company public in May 2012 with majority shares. He became the world's youngest self-made billionaire in 2008, at age 23, and has consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest individuals. He has also used his funds to organize multiple donations, including the establishment of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
A film depicting Zuckerberg's early career, legal troubles and initial success with Facebook, The Social Network, was released in 2010 and won multiple Academy Awards. His prominence and fast rise in the technology industry has prompted political and legal attention.
Early life and education
Mark Elliot Zuckerberg was born on May 14, 1984, in White Plains, New York to psychiatrist Karen (née Kempner) and dentist Edward Zuckerberg.[1][2] He and his three sisters (Arielle, Randi, and Donna) were raised in a Reform Jewish household[3] in Dobbs Ferry, New York.[4] His great-grandparents were emigrants from Austria, Germany, and Poland.[5] Zuckerberg initially attended Ardsley High School before transferring to Phillips Exeter Academy. He was captain of the fencing team.[6][7]
Software development
Early years
Zuckerberg had learnt computer programming while young. At about the age of eleven, he created "ZuckNet", a program that allowed computers at the family home and his father's dental office to communicate with each other.[8] During Zuckerberg's high-school years, he worked to build a music player called the Synapse Media Player. The device used machine learning to learn the user's listening habits, which was posted to Slashdot[9] and received a rating of 3 out of 5 from PC Magazine.[10] The New Yorker once said of Zuckerberg, "some kids played computer games. Mark created them."[4] While still in high school, he attended Mercy College taking a graduate computer course on Thursday evenings.[4]
College years
The New Yorker noted that by the time Zuckerberg beg
