REVEALED: Modest Lifestyle Of Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg

There is a general notion that a person's financial worth can be deduced by the car they drive. Although somewhat popular, this assertion has been downplayed by the world’s youngest billionaire, co-founder and CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg.

By Gbenro Adeoye

Some of his contemporaries or multi-millionaires and billionaires drive Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Rolls Royces, Aston Martins and Bugatti Veyrons, which come with hefty price tags running into hundreds of thousands of dollars and even millions.

 

Zuckerberg, 29, and currently worth $19bn, according to Forbes, drives an Acura TSX and a Honda Fit, which cost about $30,000 and $18,000, respectively.

 

His Acura TSX, is an entry level luxury sedan which uses a 2.4 litre in-line 4 cylinder engine. It can churn out 201 hp and 172 lb-ft torque and has a 5 -speed automatic transmission, which comes with steering-wheel paddle shifters for optional manual shifting. The car is quite packed with luxury features like leather interior, automatic climate control, a seven-speaker sound system, Satellite Radio, Bluetooth and HandsFreeLink.

 

Zuckerberg was born on May 14, 1984 in White Plains, New York, to Edward Zuckerberg, a dentist, and Karen (née Kempner), a psychiatrist. Even though, he was raised Jewish, Zuckerberg had since described himself as an atheist. As a junior student, Zuckerberg won prizes in science (mathematics, astronomy and physics) and classical studies. While most of his mates were busy playing games as young students, Zuckerberg was creating them.

 

In his early teens he created a music player named Synapse – as a school project – with help from a friend, which used artificial intelligence to understand one’s taste in music and created a playlist accordingly. Software bigwigs like Microsoft and AOL tried to buy it and even recruit Mark. But he refused both. Instead, he went to Harvard in 2002.

 

On February 4, 2004, with the help of his room mates, Dutsin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes, and using the finance provided by another friend, Eduardo Saverin, he launched what was then called, The Facebook. It was an instant hit, and soon made Mark the next big thing.

 

On September 14, 2012, Facebook hit 1 billion users, a remarkable feat for a company that started in Zuckerberg’s dormitory room while he was at Harvard. Zuckerberg later dropped out of Harvard in his second year to concentrate on his project.

 

If you think that Zuckerberg’s home will suggest his enormous wealth, you are mistaken. The American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur owns a house in Palo Alto , California, which is his first property investment. But prior to this, he had always stayed in rented apartment. Zuckerberg lives in the house with his wife, Priscilla Chan. The young billionaire is known to be a fan of renting and a relatively modest lifestyle.

 

The house sits in the area of 5,1617-square-foot, was originally built in 1903. Since the house is of historic times, it boasts gorgeous historical elements, like sash windows, coffered ceilings, French doors, and deep porches. The 5-bedroom house was bought for $7m. Although the house is grand, it is still considered modest, compared to the residences of Zuckerberg’s other IT contemporaries.

 

Zuckerberg does not own a private jet, but Facebook authorised its CEO and COO to use private aircraft for business purposes to maximise such executives’ productive time and ensure their quick availability. On some occasions, the jet could also be used for personal purposes.

 

On May 19, 2012, Zuckerberg got married to his long time college sweetheart, Priscilla, in an astonishing ceremony at his Palo Alto home in California . The propitious wedding was kept behind the curtains in such a way that even the guests thought they were attending Priscilla’s graduation from the Univeristy of California.