Mark Zuckerberg Success Story

01

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg turns 31 today. Born on May 14 1984, Zuckerberg became the youngest billionaire in the world at age 

23. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also wished Zuckerberg on his birthday.

"Mark, I wish you a very Happy Birthday! Your innovative zeal has left a deep impact on society and you remain an inspiration for the 

world. I warmly recall our meeting a few months ago. I pray that you are blessed with a long life filled with good health," wrote PM 

Modi on his Facebook page.

Here are 10 little-known facts about the man who made social networking synonymous with Facebook.

02

Started programming in pre-teens

At the age of 12, Zuckerberg used Atari BASIC to create a messaging program his dad used in his dental office. While still in high 

school, he created an early music streaming platform Synapse, which AOL and Microsoft showed interest in, but were rebuffed by young 

Zuckerberg.

Zuckerberg enrolled in Harvard University in 2002, where he quickly became known for his developer skills.

03

Doesn’t work long hours:

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a Q&A session revealed that he works approximately 50-60 hours per week, which is close to the 

number of hours most employees put in the office.

However, he added that he has remained focused his entire life if one counts the time he has spent on his mission. Zuckerberg said that 

he has spent most of his time thinking how to connect people and serve the community better.

04

One rule for hiring:

For people who work directly for him, Zuckerberg has one rule: He will only hire people that he would have as a boss. The test has seen 

Zuckerberg hire some of the most famous technology executives in the world.

Sheryl Sandberg, for instance, was chosen by Zuckerberg to be chief operating officer at Facebook and is perhaps the most famous 

woman in the tech world. He considers Sandberg a mentor, and has said that she has helped make Facebook into a healthy business.

05

Favourite quotes:

According to Zuckerberg's official Facebook page, his three favourite quotes are:

*Fortune favours the bold: Virgil, Aeneid X.284

*All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once you grow up: Pablo Picasso

*Make things as simple as possible but no simpler: Albert Einstein

06

Youngest billionaire in the world:

Zuckerberg became the youngest billionaire in the world at the age of 23 in the year 2008, according to a Forbes estimate. He was 

ranked 785 on the World’s Billionaires list.

With a fortune of $33.4 billion, he is the 16th richest person in the world, according to Forbes’s latest ranking.

07

Colour blind:

Facebook CEO is red-green colour blind, which means that the best colour he can see is blue. Zuckerberg reportedly once said, "Blue is 

the richest colour for me. I can see all of blue."

No prizes for guessing why blue is the most dominant colour on the world's top social networking site.

08

His Facebook profile:

Wondering what the founder of world's No. 1 networking giant likes? As per his Facebook profile, Zuckerberg likes McDonalds, In-N-

Out Burger, Daft Punk, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Kate Perry among others.

09

Sticks to T-shirts and hoodies:

In the year 2011, Zuckerberg topped the GQ's worst-dressed men in Silicon Valley list. Zuckerberg got the top honour for ill-fitting 

hoodies, jeans, T-shirts and Adidas sandals. Zuckerberg is mostly spotted in his trademark jeans with black tie over a T-shirt at most press 

events or special occasions.

He has said that even small decisions like picking what to wear or what to eat for breakfast can take up time and energy that he doesn’t 

want to waste on such matters. "I really want to clear my life to make it so that I have to make as few decisions as possible about 

anything except how to best serve this community," Zuckerberg said, adding that he has "multiple same shirts."

10

A love for books:

Mark Zuckerberg started a Facebook page called A Year of Books, where a book is recommended to followers every fortnight.

Started in January 2015, the page’s first recommendation was The End of Power. The current book, number 10 in the list, is The New 

Jim Crow.

11

Even his dog has 2 million Facebook followers:

Zuckerberg owns a pet dog named Beast. A Hungarian Sheepdog, Beast too has his own Facebook page with over 2 million fans.

12

An atheist who doesn’t own a TV:

Born to Jewish parents, Zuckerberg considers himself an atheist. According to a report in Business Insider, Zuckerberg doesn't own a TV.

13

Gets special protection:

Zuckerberg receives special security protection paid for by Facebook, according to the company's SEC filing. This includes a security 

system at his house in Palo Alto, California, and the annual cost of security personnel.

“We require these security measures for the company’s benefit because of the importance of Mr Zuckerberg to Facebook, and we 

believe that the costs of this comprehensive security programme are appropriate and necessary,” according to the filing.