Mark Zuckerberg's net worth increased by more than $US28 billion ($AUD42 billion) between your morning coffee and lunchtime.
The Meta founder and CEO — who is already worth more than $US140 billion, according to Bloomberg's billionaire index — has cleaned up from Meta's share price skyrocketing over the past day, after the company announced its first-ever cash dividend program.
On Friday, shares of Meta (META) jumped more than 20 per cent on the news of a quarterly dividend of $US0.50 per share to be paid out on March 26 to shareholders of record as of February 22.
Zuckerberg owns about 350 million shares of the company, according to the US Securities and Exchange Commission
Unless he sells or buys more shares of company stock, and assuming the quarterly dividend remains at the same level, Zuckerberg will also gain off of the company's dividend payouts to the tune of approximately $US700 million per year.
While dividends excite shareholders because they reward investors for just holding the stock, they're also widely criticized for artificially inflating the stock price without spending on employees or improvements to the underlying business.
This upswing plasters over potential harm to Meta stock after Zuckerberg, alongside other social media company heads, testified Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the risks their products pose to young people.
Zuckerberg was pressed about internal Meta documents that suggested the company estimates the lifetime value of a teen user at $US270, as well as Meta's transparency regarding how its monetizes user data.
Zuckerberg apologized to the parents in attendance, who say their children were victims of social media.
"I'm sorry for everything you have all been through," he said. "No one should go through the things that your families have suffered and this is why we invest so much and we are going to continue doing industry wide efforts to make sure no one has to go through the things your families have had to suffer."
Keep reading to see the state of the field, and which billionaire added the most to their incomprehensible riches in 2024.
Sergey Brin makes his crust from his position as co-founder of Alphabet, the holding company that owns Google.
The California-based company was set-up in 1998 and reported revenue of $258 billion in 2021.
The group's divisions include Gmail, Android and YouTube.
Brin had a personal net worth of $121 billion at Bloomberg's latest estimation.
He's added $547 to his fortune since the beginning of the year.
Another of Google's co-founding cohort, Larry Page has seen his net worth skyrocket to $128 billion.
Stock market valuation of Alphabet has ballooned since the beginning of last year, with investors seemingly enticed by the bold new frontier offered by AI, and its money-making potential.
Warren Buffett runs Berkshire Hathaway and is one of the most successful investors of all time.
The business guru added $8 billion to his back pocket in just the first month of 2024.
Once a by-word for investment savvy, Buffet has nearly fallen out of the top ten.
With a net worth of over $128 billion, he is the eighth richest person in the world.
Larry Ellison is chairman, chief technology officer and co-founder of software giant Oracle, of which he owns about 35 per cent.
Ellison is the seventh richest man in the world, with a net worth of approximately $129 billion.
Steve Ballmer is the former CEO of Microsoft and led the company from 2000 to 2014.
He joined Microsoft in the 1980s after dropping out of his MBA program.
Now he is a multi-billionaire, with a net worth of $140 billion.
His valuation has grown by $3 billion already in 2024.
His NBA team, the LA Clippers, have never reached the finals of that competition, despite Ballmer's $2 billion buy-in in 2014.
Mark Zuckerberg's net worth now sits at $142 billion, and off the recent news, its set to propel him even higher
Meta's stock took a beating in the Covid years, but has now surged back, with the social media savant gaining ground on a man whose name was once a by-word for wealth.
Bill Gates held the title of world's richest for decades, but has since focused on distributing his vast fortune through the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.
Gates cofounded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975, and after giving away billions through charitable endeavors, is still the 4th richest person in the world.
Gates has a net worth of $144 billion.
Jeff Bezos founded e-commerce giant Amazon in 1994 out of his garage in Seattle.
He stepped down as CEO to become executive chairman in July 2021.
Now the billionaire is the third richest man in the world.
His estimated wealth is more than $185 billion and has grown by $7 billion so far this year.
Bernard Arnault oversees the LVMH empire of 75 fashion and cosmetics brands, including Louis Vuitton and Sephora.
Along with his family, he controls a $185 Billion net worth, according to Forbes.
The yearly increase in consumer spending towards December 2022 saw Arnault vault to the position of world's richest man.
Arnaut, with the exception of Warren Buffet, is the only entrant in the top ten whose fortunes are not tied directly to technology.
Elon Musk cofounded six major companies including Tesla, SpaceX and tunneling startup Boring Company.
Elon Musk added Twitter to his holdings after the deal closed in October 2022. Musk now owns an estimated 74 per cent of the company.
His Net Worth at the time of writing was over $1205 Billion USD.
Elon Musk's $68 billion investment in Twitter (now called X) is a long way from paying off, with the company advising employees of a new $29 billion valuation, contributing to his cooling fortunes.