MASTER of the METAVERSE

How the young MARK ZUCKERBERG became one of the most powerful and influential men on the planet...

- KEITH GORDON

Seemingly everyone knows the name Mark Zuckerberg and furthermore, has an opinion about the world-famous, 38-year-old entrepreneur and philanthropist. Since the launch of Facebook in 2004, he has been at the forefront of the social media and internet age and as such, has arguably had more impact on the world than any other individual in this time of technological revolution and the digitalisation of society on all levels. And he's accumulated a truly impressive net worth of US$60 billion or more along the way (depending on the fluctuations of the stock market), mainly due to a 13.6% share of Facebook parent company Meta.

Most people have strong views on Facebook and the role of social media in this new information age. But perhaps lost in all of the success, occasional controversy, growth, and broader economic and geopolitical impact, is the fact that this is a relatively young man. A young man who single-handedly changed what the 21st century has been thus far, and who will play a major role in shaping what future decades look like with regard to social media and even the next generation of the internet age, Web3, and the metaverse.

It's hard to maintain an accurate public persona when an important part of your life story gets the Hollywood treatment as the basis of an Oscar-winning "biopic"; not to mention several so-called documentaries. But always remember that a biopic is not a biography. So, in order to find a more objective truth, let's go back to basics.