Meta to Pay $700 Million in Dividends to Mark Zuckerberg

By Maggie On Feb 2, 2024

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Meta, which controls Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is expected to receive annual dividends totaling $700 million (£549 million).

In a move, Meta announced its first quarterly dividend to investors; This marks Facebook’s biggest financial milestone since its 2012 IPO. The announcement comes after Meta reported strong quarterly results, reporting revenue of $40 billion and quarterly profits of $14 billion, driven by a resurgence in Facebook sales. Despite a 22% reduction in headcount to 19,000, Meta created a $50 billion share buyback program.

Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta will issue its first public company dividend of 50 cents per share as the company celebrates its 20th anniversary. Meta confirmed that it will pay $1.25 billion to investors at the start of a regular dividend distribution.

Zuckerberg owns approximately 350 million shares, and Meta is expected to make $700 million a year if it maintains equal earnings in the first year of this new policy. For details, in 2022, 39-year-old Zuckerberg received a total compensation of $ 27 million.

Meta faced scrutiny during a US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing where Zuckerberg and other tech leaders were questioned about the platform’s impact on young users. The director expressed his condolences to parents whose children are experiencing difficulties due to online use.

Throughout the hearing, lawmakers debated legislation that would strip copyright protection on Meta and other platforms for content published online. The push for legal change comes after 41 state attorneys general filed a massive lawsuit citing Meta’s harmful effects on young users. Additionally, the New Mexico Attorney General filed a lawsuit against the company for failing to protect children and the business.