Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Mark Zuckerberg

From career breakthroughs to professional milestones, explore how Mark Zuckerberg made an impact.

Mark Zuckerberg is an American businessman best known as the co-founder, chairman, CEO, and controlling shareholder of Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook). He spearheaded the creation of the social media giant Facebook, which has become a globally dominant platform. Zuckerberg's career has also been marked by legal challenges concerning the origins and ownership of Facebook and controversies surrounding user privacy on the platform.

Sections (7)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Success & Recognition Challenges & Struggles Controversies & Scandals Legacy & Impact

2002: Zuckerberg begins classes at Harvard

By 2002, when Zuckerberg began classes at Harvard, he had a reputation as a programming prodigy. He created CourseMatch, and later Facemash.

January 1, 2004: Registration of thefacebook.com domain

On January 1, 2004, Mark Zuckerberg registered the domain name thefacebook.com.

January 2004: Zuckerberg Begins Coding Facebook

In January 2004, Mark Zuckerberg started writing the code for a new website that would become Facebook.

February 4, 2004: Launch of "Thefacebook"

On February 4, 2004, Mark Zuckerberg launched "Thefacebook", originally located at thefacebook.com, in partnership with his roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes.

February 2004: Facebook Launch at Harvard

In February 2004, Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook with roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes while attending Harvard College.

August 2004: Launch of Wirehog

In August 2004, Mark Zuckerberg, along with Andrew McCollum, Adam D'Angelo, and Sean Parker, launched a competing peer-to-peer file sharing service called Wirehog.

2004: Move to Palo Alto and Meeting Peter Thiel

In 2004, Zuckerberg dropped out of Harvard and moved to Palo Alto, California with his co-founders. He met Peter Thiel, who invested in his company.

2007: Launch of Facebook Platform Applications

In 2007, Facebook Platform applications was launched, which was built on the precursor of Wirehog.

2007: Zuckerberg on Open Information Flow

In 2007, Zuckerberg stated that creating an open information flow for people was more important than selling to major corporations.

2008: Became World's Youngest Self-Made Billionaire

In 2008, at the age of 23, Mark Zuckerberg became the world's youngest self-made billionaire.

April 2009: Sought Advice from Peter Currie

In April 2009, Mark Zuckerberg sought the advice of former Netscape CFO Peter Currie regarding financing strategies for Facebook.

July 21, 2010: Facebook Reaches 500 Million Users

On July 21, 2010, Mark Zuckerberg reported that Facebook had reached the 500-million-user mark.

September 2010: $100 million donation to Newark Public Schools

In September 2010, it was reported that Zuckerberg had donated $100 million to Newark Public Schools, the public school system of Newark, New Jersey, through the Startup:Education foundation.

September 2010: Pledge to Newark Public Schools

In September 2010, with the support of Governor Chris Christie, Cory Booker obtained a US$100 million pledge from Mark Zuckerberg to Newark Public Schools.

2010: Hacker Philosophy at Facebook

In 2010, Steven Levy wrote that Zuckerberg "clearly thinks of himself as a hacker". Zuckerberg said that "it's OK to break things" "to make them better", which lead to the implementation of "hackathons".

2010: Signing The Giving Pledge

In 2010, Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and investor Warren Buffett signed The Giving Pledge, committing to donate at least half of their wealth to charity over time.

May 2012: Facebook Goes Public

In May 2012, Mark Zuckerberg took Facebook public with majority shares.

October 1, 2012: Meeting with Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow

On October 1, 2012, Mark Zuckerberg met with then Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow to stimulate social media innovation in Russia and to boost Facebook's position in the Russian market.

December 2012: Donation to Silicon Valley Community Foundation

In December 2012, Mark Zuckerberg donated 18 million shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, an organization that includes education in its grant-making areas.

December 2012: Commitment to donate the majority of wealth

In December 2012, Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan said that over the course of their lives they would give the majority of their wealth to "advancing human potential and promoting equality" in the spirit of The Giving Pledge.

February 2013: Fundraising Event for Chris Christie

In February 2013, Mark Zuckerberg hosted his first fundraising event for then New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, focusing on education reform.

April 11, 2013: Launch of FWD.us

On April 11, 2013, Mark Zuckerberg led the launch of FWD.us, a lobbying group focused on immigration reform and improving education. However, the group faced criticism for supporting oil and gas development initiatives.

June 20, 2013: Engagement on Facebook Profile Page

On June 20, 2013, Zuckerberg engaged with Facebook users on his profile page following the publication of a FWD.us video, addressing concerns about the organization's goals regarding immigration.

September 2013: Zuckerberg's Goal at TechCrunch Conference

In September 2013, Mark Zuckerberg raised the goal of expanding Internet coverage into developing countries at the TechCrunch conference.

September 2013: Comments on PRISM Scandal

In September 2013, during the TechCrunch Disrupt conference, Mark Zuckerberg commented on the mid-2013 PRISM scandal, stating that the U.S. government "blew it" regarding the protection of citizens' freedoms and the economy.

December 2013: Donation of Facebook shares to Silicon Valley Community Foundation

In December 2013, Zuckerberg announced a donation of 18 million Facebook shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, totaling $990 million in value, and was recognized as the largest charitable gift on public record for that year.

2013: Launch of Internet.org

In 2013, Mark Zuckerberg launched Internet.org, an initiative to provide Internet access to the five billion people without it.

2013: Expanding Internet Access via Facebook

In 2013, at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference, Mark Zuckerberg stated he was working towards registering the 5 billion people not connected to the internet on Facebook. This was intertwined with the aim of the Internet.org project.

March 2014: Keynote Speaker at Mobile World Congress

In March 2014, Mark Zuckerberg was the keynote speaker at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, focusing on the importance of mobile technology for Facebook's future and expanding Internet coverage to developing countries.

October 2014: $25 million donation to combat Ebola

In October 2014, Zuckerberg and his wife donated $25 million to combat the Ebola virus disease, specifically the West African Ebola virus epidemic.

October 23, 2014: Q&A Session at Tsinghua University in Beijing

On October 23, 2014, Mark Zuckerberg participated in a Q&A session at Tsinghua University in Beijing, speaking in Mandarin Chinese, to fuel the nation's entrepreneur sector, despite Facebook being banned in China.

December 8, 2014: Meeting with Lu Wei at Facebook Headquarters

On December 8, 2014, Mark Zuckerberg, along with other American technology figures, hosted Chinese politician Lu Wei at Facebook's headquarters.

December 11, 2014: Live Q&A Session at Facebook Headquarters

On December 11, 2014, Mark Zuckerberg held a live Q&A session at Facebook's headquarters to learn how to better serve the community. He defended Facebook as a means to facilitate social engagement.

February 2015: Endowment of San Francisco General Hospital

In February 2015, Zuckerberg and his wife endowed the foundation of the San Francisco General Hospital with $75 million, which was the biggest individual donation to a U.S. public hospital. The hospital was renamed The Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center.

December 1, 2015: Pledge to transfer 99% of Facebook shares to CZI

On December 1, 2015, Zuckerberg and his wife pledged to transfer 99% of their Facebook shares, then valued at $45 billion, to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) over the course of their lives.

February 24, 2016: Internal Memo on Black Lives Matter

On February 24, 2016, Mark Zuckerberg sent an internal memo to Facebook employees rebuking those who crossed out "Black Lives Matter" phrases and replaced them with "All Lives Matter", considering this practice disrespectful and malicious, and announcing investigations into the incidents.

2016: Co-founded Breakthrough Starshot

In 2016, Mark Zuckerberg co-founded the Breakthrough Starshot project with Yuri Milner and Stephen Hawking, a solar sail spacecraft development project.

2016: Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Creation

In 2016, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) provided $600 million to establish the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, a tax-exempt charity designed as a collaborative research space in San Francisco, aiming to foster collaboration among scientists from UCSF, UC Berkeley, and Stanford University. The Biohub retains the right to commercialize any research it funds, while inventors have the option to make their discoveries open-source with permission from Biohub. Furthermore, the Biohub requires its investigators to publish submitted manuscripts and related data on preprint servers to increase access to scientific research and promote open science.

January 2017: Criticism of Trump's Executive Order

In January 2017, Mark Zuckerberg criticized Donald Trump's executive order to limit immigrants and refugees from some countries.

2017: Call for Action on Global Warming

In 2017, Mark Zuckerberg called for action to stop global warming in a commencement speech at Harvard University.

January 2019: Plans for Encrypted Messaging

In January 2019, Mark Zuckerberg laid plans to integrate an end-to-end encrypted system for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

August 14, 2020: Instagram and Messenger Chat Integration

On August 14, 2020, Facebook integrated the chat systems for Instagram and Messenger on both iOS and Android devices, encouraging cross-communication between users.

2020: Ballot Initiative Funding

In 2020, Zuckerberg funded a state-level ballot initiative to raise taxes by altering California's Proposition 13, requiring tax assessment of commercial properties at market rate.

August 2024: Letter to the House Judiciary Committee

In August 2024, Mark Zuckerberg stated in a letter to the House Judiciary Committee that he regretted not resisting pressure from the Biden administration to censor COVID-19 related content.