Mark Zuckerberg born in New York into a Jewish family. Zuckerberg's father worked as a dentist, and his mother was a psychiatrist. IN school years became interested in computer programming and developed a network version of the game “Risk”. Having rejected job offers from AOL and, he entered Harvard University to study psychology. At Harvard, Mark additionally attended IT courses.

Many biographical texts have been written about Mark Zuckerberg, in which the refrain is the phrase: "youngest billionaire". Indeed, this lucky guy is so young that many are wondering: is he a genius or just caught up in a stream of favorable circumstances? However, the creation of a global social network can hardly be called an accidental success.

Mark Elliot Zuckerberg was born in New York, in an intelligent family, and from childhood did not know the need for anything. Of course, he was provided with a computer and, being a passionate fan of it, by the end of his school years he created computer version board game "Risk". Having rejected job offers from AOL and Microsoft, he entered Harvard University to study psychology. And soon, with a friend, he developed the first serious player program: MP3-player Winamp. This hobby did not interfere with Mark’s comprehensive self-development: he gave preference to mathematics and fencing, and studied ancient languages. At Harvard he became interested in psychology. But programming remained his element.

At the university, he began vigorous activity to create a website for students to communicate, and no one expected that it would grow into the most popular social network. But the Facebook program was written in just a week!

The young programmer was helped to promote the social network by Sean Parker, a cult Internet personality, who brought Mark together with businessman Peter Thiel, who managed to attract large investments into this project. By 2006, Facebook had become the seventh most popular Facebook in America, and Mark received the first offers to buy it, but were rejected. In just a few years, Zuckerberg increased the network's capabilities and his finances a hundredfold. Today Facebook is called the new Google.

Mark Zuckerberg's wife

Mark and the 27-year-old UC Medical School graduate Priscilla Chan got married in the yard behind Zuckerberg's house. About a hundred guests believed they were invited to celebrate Chan's graduation.

The couple has been living together since 2010: then Zuckerberg invited her to live in his rented house in Palo Alto. A couple of months later, they traveled to China, and it is known that Zuckerberg studied Chinese for the trip. Only in the spring of 2011, Mark Zuckerberg set the status “in a relationship” on his profile; now he changed the status much more quickly - “married”.

There is no report of any prenuptial agreement being entered into, but this is a common practice in the States. One way or another, Zuckerberg made his $17 billion fortune before getting married, and the wedding took place a day after the IPO.

After the completion of the IPO, Bloomberg estimated Mark Zuckerberg's net worth at $19.1 billion. The successful sale of shares raised the CEO of Facebook to 29th place in the ranking of billionaires, placing him above the founders of the corporation Google and.

Mark Zuckerberg sold 30.2 million shares, which will bring him $1.03-1.15 billion. The founder of the world's largest social network turned 28 just four days ago, and he still has a lot to strive for. For example, the state founder of Microsoft Bill Gates is valued at $60.4 billion. It's short, but amazing story about how an ordinary 27-year-old guy becomes the idol of millions. Everyone wants to reach unprecedented heights, but only a few are capable of this.

The wedding of Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook and owner of a billion dollar fortune, and Priscilla Chan was organized on May 19, 2012. She turned out to be a surprise for hundreds of guests who believed that they had come to a party in honor of Priscilla’s graduation from medical college, where, by the way, the girl met her fate. For those who are wondering how old Mark Zuckerberg's wife was at the time of the wedding - twenty-seven, she is a year younger than her husband.

Reason for dating

The story of how Mark Zuckerberg met his wife is similar to many others, but at the same time it is quite interesting story. In 2003, Priscilla was invited to a party hosted by a Jewish fraternity called Alpha Epsilon Pi. Chan’s first impression of the red-haired guy: “a nerd, a little out of this world.” Mark had a beer mug with a humorous inscription about beer in the C++ programming language. Priscilla was interested in programming, and she and Mark laughed at a joke together. He appreciated her intelligence, resourcefulness and... This little episode was the beginning of their long romantic relationship.

Ready to do anything for love

It’s hard to believe, but for the sake of the older relatives of his future wife Priscilla, Mark Zuckerberg... learned Chinese. For two years, the head of Facebook, under the leadership of Priscilla, pored over the Chinese dialect Mandarin. Here is one proof of his success: at a meeting with students at the elite Tsinghua University, he was able to speak freely to the audience without an interpreter.

After the engagement, Mark respectfully announced it to Priscilla's grandmother, and it is impossible to say whether the bride's family was more shocked - by the news itself or by a foreigner.

Young family

At the beginning of December 2015, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife finally had a daughter, who was named Maxima. But before this happened, Priscilla suffered three miscarriages, and these misfortunes only brought the couple closer together. Talking about this, Mark urged people not to close themselves off in their problems, but to discuss them in order to help others.

The young dad posted to his daughter touching letter, and here is his ending: “Max, we love you and feel that we have a huge responsibility: we have to make this world a better place for you and other children. We hope your life is filled with the same love, hope and joy that you give us. We can't wait to see what new things you bring to this world."

A successful businessman, Zuckerberg generally loves children. And who knows, perhaps Max will not be his only child, and one day we will see photos of a happy Mark Zuckerberg with his wife and children on the Internet.

For the good of society

Today, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, who always supports him in his work, devote 99% of their income to “improving the world.” The foundation, called the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, works to develop people's potential and equality - especially in issues medical care, accessibility economic instruments and information.

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan are committing a hefty $120 million to improve conditions and education at schools in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a particular focus on students from ethnic minorities and low-income families. Funds also go towards improving the qualifications of teachers and equipping classrooms.

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Priscilla, half American and half Chinese, says she grew up in a poor immigrant family. The mother had to work two jobs, and the daughters, including Priscilla, did everything they could to help their grandparents, who did not know English, get comfortable in a foreign country. The girls studied well and successfully graduated from college. Previously in their family higher education no one received it.

Celebrity biographies

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13.09.16 10:14

When organizing an “online beauty contest,” he did not even think about the stunning consequences this would lead to. The biography of Mark Zuckerberg, the youngest billionaire in history, began with a student prank.

Biography of Mark Zuckerberg

The son of a dentist from the suburbs of New York

Mark was born in large family dentist Edward Zuckerberg and his psychiatrist wife Karen Kempner on May 14, 1984. The Zuckerbergs lived in a small Westchester County village 21 miles north of midtown Manhattan. Jews Edward and Karen raised three daughters (Randy, Donna, Ariel) and only son.

At the age of 13, Mark underwent a Jewish bar mitzvah, but later admitted that he is an atheist and does not support any faiths. Despite this, he believes in karma and believes that the most amazing religion in the world is Buddhism.

Mark Zuckerberg's school biography is replete with bright pages. He excelled at Ardsley High School and was transferred to Phillips Exeter Academy in Hampshire, where he won prizes in mathematics, physics, astronomy and classical studies. When Mark entered college, he indicated on his application that he could read and write French, Ancient Greek, Latin and Hebrew. In addition, he was the captain of the fencing team.

Programming prodigy

By the time he began his studies at Harvard in 2002, Zuckerberg had already earned a reputation as a programming prodigy. Despite the fact that Mark entered the psychology department, the newly minted student studied computer science and joined the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. In his second year he wrote computer program CourseMatch, which helped form study groups.

And soon Mark created another program, initially called "Facemash", which allowed students to choose the best photos. It was simply an entertainment site where pictures of two guys or two girls were posted and visitors had to vote on who was “hot.” This is how the rating of this or that participant was formed. Over the course of a couple of weekends, a record number of students visited the site. But by Monday morning the college had closed it because Harvard's computer network simply collapsed under such pressure. The college authorities did not know that this was the beginning of the Facebook era.

Youngest billionaire

Mark left Harvard in his second year to bring his project to fruition. Together with several friends (including Dustin Moskovitz), Zuckerberg moved to Palo Alto. There they rented a small house, which became their “headquarters”. Over the summer, Mark found a sponsor (Peter Thiel), who invested money in new company. At the initial stage of the work, Harvard student from Brazil Eduardo Saverin, who later sued Zuckerberg and received 5 percent of Facebook shares, helped financially.

The company's first office appeared in mid-2004, and soon Mark, who owns 24% of the shares of the company he invented, became the youngest billionaire on the planet.

Released in October 2010, Fincher's biopic The Social Network is detailed story about the start, formation of Facebook and litigation surrounding the company. Zuckerberg did not welcome the idea of ​​making such a movie: “I didn’t want anyone to film the biography of Mark Zuckerberg while I was alive.” However, he later appreciated the drama (which received two Oscars and four Golden Globes). The role of Mark in the film was played by Jesse Eisenberg.

The actor and his hero shook hands for the first time on Saturday Night Live. live"in January 2011.

Generosity is his middle name

On December 9, 2010, Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett signed a promise called The Giving Pledge. This agreement stipulates that every millionaire (billionaire) who signs it must donate 50% or more of his wealth to charity. Later, other billionaires joined the “oath.”

Mark not only traveled the world, widely promoted his social network, contributed to the creation of numerous applications, but also remained one of the most famous philanthropists.

So, on December 19, 2013, Zuckerberg donated part of his Facebook shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (the amount of donations was approximately $990 million). As of December 31, 2013, this gift was recognized as the largest charitable contribution. Every year, Mark is among the 50 most generous Americans; his total contribution to a good cause has already exceeded $1 billion.

In the fall of 2012, Mark visited Moscow, and his lecture at Moscow State University. Lomonosov caused a huge stir.

Personal life of Mark Zuckerberg

Together with Priscilla

Mark met his future wife, Priscilla Chan, at a fraternity party during his sophomore year at Harvard. In 2003 they started dating. Priscilla is the daughter of Chinese-Vietnamese refugees who came to the United States after the fall of Saigon in 1975. She was born in Braintree, a suburb of Boston (Massachusetts). Chan studied at Faculty of Medicine University of California.

In September 2010, Zuckerberg invited his friend to move in together, and they began to live in Palo Alto. In December of the same year, the couple traveled to China. Before this, Mark managed to master the basics of Mandarin.

On May 19, 2012, Zuckerberg and Chan got married on the back patio of the groom's home, combining the wedding celebration with Priscilla's graduation from medical school.

Gratitude for the birth of Max

One thing darkened the personal life of Mark Zuckerberg and his wife - they could not become parents. Priscilla suffered three miscarriages. But on July 31, 2015, Mark announced that his wife was pregnant again, and this time the risk of losing the child was minimized.

On December 1, 2015, the billionaire’s first-born daughter, Maxim (“Max”) Chan Zuckerberg, was born. IN open letter To Max, Mark and Priscilla promised to donate 99% of their Facebook shares - this is how they expressed gratitude to fate for the birth of their daughter.

Mark Zuckerberg's success story is a combination of talent, cold calculation and a series of incredible coincidences that allowed the genius to become the youngest billionaire in world history. Having founded the social Facebook network, already in 2010 he was included in the Forbes magazine list with a personal capital of $ 7 billion and ranks 29th in the ranking of the richest Americans.

Dossier:

You can search for a long time for the reason for Mark Zuckerberg’s incredible success, looking at his actions and biographical milestones through the prism of time, and not find answers. After all, the history of any public person, and even more so a billionaire, is covered with mysterious dark spots. But we can say with confidence that he lit the star of his fame with his own hands.

The young genius made his passion for programming the meaning of his life. When creating a trial version of Facebook in an ordinary student dormitory, I didn’t even think about billions. He dreamed of uniting friends, but was able to bring together billions of people on the planet.

"The thing that really excites me is fulfilling the mission of creating open society", - M. Zuckerberg.

It was his friends who not only helped Mark launch his project, but also suggested how to expand his business and start making money. However, life surrounded by millions of friends and billions of dollars was not carefree. Ill-wishers and envious people, lies and deceptions, intrigues and betrayal appeared.

“You won't find 500 million friends without making a few enemies,” - M. Zuckerberg.

But even lawsuits could not unsettle him. There is always a smile on his face, he is confident in himself and clearly knows in which direction to move next.

Over the past seven years, he has increased his wealth 10-fold: from $7 billion in 2010 to $70.1 billion in 2017. Billions of dollars are generated daily in profits - in 9 months of this year, his wealth increased by $14.1 billion. But the goal is so and what remains is building a community that can communicate freely throughout the world.

The dynamics of the rapid growth of the fortune are clearly visible on the graph.

Figure 1. Dynamics of growth of Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune for 2009-2017.
Source: Forbes

Mark Zuckerberg has 96,934,567 followers as friends on his personal Facebook page. But 99% of them were not able to achieve the same success in business. So what is the secret to taking off? In a randomly caught wave, competent calculation, coincidence? Let's try to find the answers in short biography Mark Zuckerberg. And even though he is young, he can already boast not so much of the quantity as of the quality of the years he has lived.

Childhood achievements

Mark himself characterizes himself as a hacker by vocation, but his first achievements are more related to the development of programs and games. Even in his childhood, a Jewish boy, born on May 14, 1984 in White Plains, New York, showed extraordinary abilities.

Figure 2. Mark as a child.
Source: 24smi website

For his 10th birthday, he received a computer as a gift, but he perceived the new technology not as an opportunity for entertainment, but as a way to make his dreams come true. Although in his case it is difficult to draw a clear line between hobby and self-development. Approaching the issue like an adult, Mark independently began to study literature on programming and put his knowledge into practice. As a result, the first developments appeared:

• the zuck.net messaging network, which his family appreciated;
• computer version of the board game “Risk”;
• Synapse Media Player program is a self-learning MP3 player that can recognize listener preferences.

It was this latest development that caught Microsoft's attention. But the programmer refused the lucrative offer, posting his brainchild online.

“Inspiration is not for sale,” M. Zuckerberg.

The gifted boy's interests were not limited to programming. He was interested in mathematics and science, fencing and ancient languages. Broad outlook and determined future fate- he became a student at Harvard, but chose the faculty of psychology.

When passion becomes mania: scandalous projects from university years

How to stop the flight of thoughts and slow down before the line that is dangerous to cross? Mark never saw this line and thoughtlessly moved forward, obeying his ideas. Fortunately, these extraordinary solutions were closely related to programming.

One of these spontaneous projects was a website where the programmer posted 500 paintings with a request for friends to describe the works of art in the comments. In this way, the careless student solved the problem of preparing for the exam. Thanks to his extraordinary approach, the innovator received credit, but it was the most harmless project.

Figure 3. Zuckerberg with friends.
Source: 24smi website

For the creation of the FaceMash website, which “downloaded” the Harvard server, Mark had to answer to the administration. At first glance, the idea was humorous and harmless. After a quarrel with a girl, a programmer hacked into the university network, downloaded photos of female students and put them up in pairs for comparative voting. All programming work took 2 hours. The poll attracted the attention of 500 students, and the server went down, which showed the vulnerability of the university’s Internet security.

"Encroachment on privacy“- part of the commission’s guilty verdict did not frighten the genius, but gave rise to the idea of ​​​​creating a social network.

But the opening of the new project “The Facebook” was not without scandal. Mark was accused of stealing the idea by the Winklevoss brothers, who hired the programmer to complete the development of HarvardConnection.com, an intra-Harvard social network.

“Whoever makes a comfortable chair should not pay everyone who makes chairs,” Zuckerberg will say at the court hearing.

For the idea “flying in the air,” Mark still had to pay his opponents $45 million in 2009.

The development of “The Facebook”, which the student was engaged in together with his fellow students (Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskowitz, Andrew McCollum and Christopher Hughes), took up all his time. There was simply not enough time to study, and the choice was not made in favor of education.

Mark leaves the university walls, where he was destined to return. In May 2017, being a famous billionaire, Zuckerberg received a university diploma.

Figure 4. Zuckerberg with his parents at his graduation ceremony at Harvard.
Source: Instagram page

“Mom, I always told you I would come back and get my degree,” Zuckerberg.
Source: personal page on Instagram

After receiving his diploma, he gave a heartfelt speech to Harvard graduates:

A new round of fate from Facebook

Happy Birthday popular network considered February 4, 2004. But the site received its modern design, name and concept with the arrival of Sean Parker in the project.

An eccentric, extraordinary hacker, bursting with ideas, immediately found a common language with Zuckerberg.

They divided the roles perfectly. Mark, as a programmer, worked on the technical side with his friends, and Sean took on all organizational and administrative issues.

“I usually woke up in the bedroom, looked into the kitchen and went to program. I had a girlfriend at the time, but when she suddenly disappeared, I wasn't too upset. After all, I always had Facebook to throw a good party."

The result of their joint activities was a change in the name and design of the site, as well as:

• team relocation to Silicon Valley;
• attracting investors to the project - it was Parker who achieved cooperation with Peter Thiel, Hoffman and Pincus;
• access to new continents;
• increase in subscribers to 1 million people.

Mark Zuckerberg... This name is known to almost every person who has access to the Internet. Who is he? Programmer, businessman, philanthropist, family man and just good guy, which in its relatively at a young age achieved what many have been achieving for decades. This article will tell the biography of Mark Zuckerberg, the success story of his brainchild called Facebook, as well as interesting facts from his personal life.

early years

The future billionaire was born on May 14, 1984 in the American city of White Plains, into a family of doctors. In his family, Mark was far from the only child. He also has three sisters: Randi, Donna and Ariel.

At the age of 10, young Mark Zuckerberg realized that he wanted to devote his life to programming. It was at this age that his parents bought him his first computer, on which he subsequently spent days on end. At first he wrote rather primitive programs, but over time his skills began to improve.

First successes

In high school, Zuckerberg created his own strategy game called “Risk,” and even then he was noticed by representatives of Microsoft, who offered him to work for them. Due to the fact that Mark was underage and had not yet graduated from high school, the deal never materialized.

The next project of the future co-creator of Facebook was the Synapse program, which he wrote with his friend. This software worked on the basis of the Winamp audio player. It analyzed the musical tastes of listeners and showed a selection of similar compositions.

Studying at Harvard

This may surprise some, but programming was far from Mark’s only hobby. At the time of entering higher education, he was engaged in fencing, studied ancient languages, and also devoted a lot of time to mathematics. Oddly enough, he decided to enroll in the psychology department at Harvard. It was at this university that Zuckerberg began his path to success.

Creation of Facebook

While studying at Harvard, Mark Zuckerberg came up with the idea of ​​​​creating a website where students could communicate online. It is clear that it is very problematic to create such a large-scale project alone, so he enlisted the support of his comrades Dustin Moskowitz, Andrew McCollum and Chris Hughes. Soon they were joined by someone who sponsored this project. After some time, a conflict arose with the latter, which was resolved only in the courtroom.

The main reason for Facebook's popularity is its convenience. Students could organize themselves into groups and areas that already existed in their educational institutions. They had the opportunity to add their photos and any personal information - from favorite hobbies to love preferences. Mark Zuckerberg's company notes two main differences between Facebook and other popular social networks. First of all, it's real here existing people looking for exactly the same people. Secondly, on this site you can choose which groups of users can access your data - only people from the university or absolutely all site visitors, only people from your city or, for example, all Frank Sinatra fans, etc.

The social network needed good promotion, which was undertaken by prominent entrepreneur Peter Thiel. As a result, this promotion led to the incredible popularity of Facebook. Already in 2006, this site entered the TOP of the most popular sites in the USA.

So who is the real author?

Which was originally created for Harvard students, has gained great popularity beyond this educational institution. But not everything was as smooth as it might seem at first glance. Two brothers who studied with Mark in the same department accused him of stealing the idea. This is partly true, since they previously invited him as a programmer to create a similar site. They dragged Zuckerberg through the courts, but never won a single case. As a result, they were paid compensation in the amount of $45 million.

Beyond history Facebook success many are interested family life the creator of this site. We couldn’t help but take this into account, and therefore we present to your attention a few facts about Priscilla Chan, the wife of Mark Zuckerberg.

1. Priscilla achieves her goals on her own. At the Quincy High School graduation in 2003, she was assigned to give the valedictorian speech. In America, only those schoolchildren who performed well during the educational process are awarded this honor. After graduating from school, she entered Harvard to study biology. In the period from 2007 to 2008, she was engaged in teaching activities. After these events, Mark’s future wife entered the medical college in the pediatrics department, which she successfully graduated shortly before her marriage.
2. This may surprise some, but Mark Zuckerberg met his wife even before he created Facebook and became a famous billionaire. Their first meeting took place at a university party, when they... Standing in line for the toilet.
3. Mark and Priscilla don't like pathos and glamour. IN free time they prefer to walk in the park, play bocce (a game similar to bowling and petanque), and spend evenings playing board games. In addition, many journalists have repeatedly criticized the Zuckerberg family for their tasteless dressing and lack of style.
4. Priscilla is the initiator of an organ donation program on Facebook, and is generally active in charitable activities with her husband.
5. Before their wedding, Mark and Priscilla dated for almost 10 years. When they decided to tie the knot, they tried to make sure that this news did not get into the media. Moreover, they did not even tell their relatives about it. Priscilla invited them to a party, and the reason for the celebration was receiving a scientific degree. Only during the celebration did everyone find out that this couple had arranged a wedding.

Mark Zuckerberg's children

At the time of writing this publication, Mark and Priscilla are the parents of two daughters - Maxim (or as Max's parents call her) and August. The first was born in 2015, and the second two years later.

Is Zuckerberg the grandson of Rockefeller?!

In 2017, the famous banker David Rockefeller left our world. Almost immediately after this event, the world community was stirred up by an incredible rumor: Mark Zuckerberg is actually the grandson of David Rockefeller, and his real name is Jacob Michael Greenberg!

According to unofficial news sources, the story of the creation of Facebook is an ordinary fiction, invented as a distraction. In their opinion, this whole story about a working-class student who, together with his friends, created a multimillion-dollar social network, was created so that young people believed that they could achieve success from scratch. According to these sources, Mark Zuckerberg is just a pawn in the hands of more powerful people, and Facebook is a global surveillance system created by the CIA. The same media called Zuckerberg the great-grandson of Maurice Greenberg, a famous American entrepreneur and owner of the largest insurance companies, CEO of AIG and VC Starr.

On this moment these unofficial sources have not provided any evidence that the above information is true. As we already mentioned, Mark Zuckerberg was born into a family of ordinary doctors. His father was a dentist and his mother was a psychiatrist.

"Social network"

In 2010, a feature film about Mark Zuckerberg called “The Social Network” was released. The director of the film was the director and the screenwriter - The synopsis of the film is as follows:

At the center of the story is a 21-year-old student named Mark. He studies at the prestigious Harvard University and is in a relationship with his girlfriend Erica Albright. Mark is the type of person who feels good only when surrounded by people like themselves. The strangeness of his character and obsession with his studies ultimately led to his girlfriend leaving him. After these events, the protagonist’s neighbor suggested that he compare photographs of university girls online. Mark, wanting revenge on his ex-lover, approved this idea and successfully implemented it. After this success, students from a prestigious Harvard club pay attention to Mark and offer him an interesting project. But the main character already has his own idea and it is much more global.

Facebook creator's opinion on the film "The Social Network"

Despite the fact that Mark Zuckerberg initially stated that he would not watch David Fincher’s film, he still got acquainted with it. The Facebook creator praised the film for its accuracy of everyday details (like the T-shirts and flip-flops worn by main character), but criticized it in other aspects. First, he noted that a character named Erica Albright never actually existed. Secondly, he didn't like the idea that the main character created a social network just because of his ex-girlfriend. According to Zuckerberg, this goes against reality, since he created Facebook only out of interest in what he loved.

Despite the statements of the real Mark, the author of the story, Aaron Sorkin, whose script is an adaptation of Ben Metzrich’s novel “Accidental Billionaires: The Making of Facebook, a Story of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal,” insisted that the events of the film were not made up. On top of that , he noted that Erica Albright, played by actress Rooney Mara, is a real-life woman whose real name has been changed.

One of the producers Social network“he even stated that this picture is nothing more than a metaphor through which director David Fincher showed the ways people communicate with each other. He also thanked Mark himself for allowing them to use events from his life as the basis for the film.

I would like to conclude our article with a few interesting facts about Zuckerberg and his brainchild:

We have provided you with a biography of Mark Zuckerberg, a photo of this millionaire, facts from his personal life, as well as the story of his incredible success. We hope that this article was interesting to you and you learned a lot of new things!