Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth rocketed by almost $3bn as he gave evidence to Congress

The net worth of dot com billionaire Mark Zuckerberg skyrocketed by almost $3bn as he gave evidence to the US Congress on the Cambridge Analytica scandal yesterday.

The 33-year-old, who owns 16 per cent of the shares in the company he founded, saw his net worth rise by 4.4 per cent as he answered questions from the Senate commerce and judiciary committee.

Shares tumbled back in March when the data hacking scandal first broke, and it was revealed that 87 million people may have had their information used by Cambridge Analytica.

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But Zuckerberg’s responses yesterday seemed to rally shareholders, as at the time of writing, Facebook stocks were trading 4.5 per cent higher, at 165.04 US dollars.

According to Forbes’ real time rich list, Zuckerberg’s net worth shot up by $2.8bn to $66bn, making him the seventh richest person in the world.

This is still less than Facebook’s boss was worth before the scandal came out, as back in February Forbes valued his net worth at around $79.5bn.

During the trial, Zuckerberg talked through a number of key issues with the committee including right to privacy, Cambridge Analytica, the storing and selling of personal data and whether regulation was necessary.

As Zuckerberg spoke, Twitter couldn’t help but poke fun at him for sitting on what looked like a “booster seat” that made him look taller.

#Zuckerberg also needs a booster seat. Glad he could move on from his high chair! pic.twitter.com/gflS22kDaP— Paul Lee (@PaulLee85) April 10, 2018

Zuckerberg’s testimony continues today, as the Facebook CEO will go in front of the energy and commerce committee.