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 launched Facebook, a prominent social media service, and has since overseen its growth and evolution. Zuckerberg's career has been marked by both significant success and controversies, including lawsuits related to the platform's creation and concerns surrounding user privacy. He remains a central figure in the tech industry and a subject of public and critical attention.

Sections (7)

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

1934: Communications Act

In 1934, the Communications Act was passed, and in 2020, the US Senate Commerce Committee issued subpoenas to CEOs of tech firms, including Zuckerberg, to testify about the legal immunity the law affords tech platforms under Section 230.

January 1, 2004: thefacebook.com domain registered

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

January 2004: Started Writing Code for Thefacebook

In January 2004, Zuckerberg began writing code for a new website.

February 4, 2004: Launched Thefacebook

On February 4, 2004, Zuckerberg launched "Thefacebook", originally located at thefacebook.com, in partnership with his roommates.

February 2004: Facebook Launched

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

August 2004: Launch of Wirehog

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

2004: Moved to Palo Alto

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

2005: Lawsuit filed by Eduardo Saverin

In 2005, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin filed a lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, alleging Zuckerberg illegally spent Saverin's money on personal expenses. The suit was settled out of court, with Saverin retaining his co-founder title and agreeing to stop speaking to the press.

2007: Remarks at Startup School

In 2007, Zuckerberg made a controversial assertion at Y Combinator's Startup School course at Stanford University that "young people are just smarter" and that other entrepreneurs should bias towards hiring young people.

2007: Facebook Platform Applications Launched

Wirehog was a precursor to Facebook Platform applications, which was launched in 2007.

2008: Becomes World's Youngest Self-Made Billionaire

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

April 2009: Sought Advice from Peter Currie

In April 2009, 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, Zuckerberg reported that Facebook had reached the 500-million-user mark.

September 2010: $100 million donation to Newark Public Schools

In September 2010, Zuckerberg donated $100 million to Newark Public Schools, which led to criticism due to the timing of the release of "The Social Network".

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September 2010: Zuckerberg pledged US$100 million to Newark Public Schools with Booker's support

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

2010: Signs The Giving Pledge

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

May 2012: Facebook Goes Public

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

October 1, 2012: Met with Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow

On October 1, 2012, 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: Pledge to donate majority of wealth

In December 2012, Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan pledged to give the majority of their wealth to "advancing human potential and promoting equality", in the spirit of The Giving Pledge.

December 2012: Zuckerberg donated 18 million shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation

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

February 2013: Zuckerberg hosted fundraising event for Chris Christie

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

April 6, 2013: Home Promotional Campaign

On April 6, 2013, Rebecca Van Dyck reported that 85 million American Facebook users were exposed to the first day of the Home promotional campaign.

April 11, 2013: Zuckerberg led the launch of FWD.us

On April 11, 2013, Zuckerberg led the launch of a 501(c)(4) lobbying group called FWD.us, which was comprised of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and investors. The goals of the group include immigration reform, improving the state of education, and enabling more technological breakthroughs, yet it has also been criticized for financing ads advocating for oil and gas development initiatives.

June 20, 2013: Zuckerberg engaged with Facebook users on his profile page after FWD.us video release

On June 20, 2013, Zuckerberg actively engaged with Facebook users on his own profile page after the online publication of a FWD.us video, responding to claims about the organization's goals.

September 2013: TechCrunch Disrupt Conference

At the 2013 TechCrunch Disrupt conference held in September, Zuckerberg raised the goal of expanding Internet coverage into developing countries.

September 2013: Zuckerberg commented on the PRISM scandal at TechCrunch Disrupt conference

In September 2013, Zuckerberg commented on the mid-2013 PRISM scandal at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference, stating that the U.S. government "blew it" in protecting citizens' freedoms and companies.

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 and recognized as the largest charitable gift on public record for that year.

2013: Internet Access on Facebook

At the 2013 TechCrunch Disrupt conference held in September, Zuckerberg stated that he was working towards registering the 5 billion people who were not connected to the Internet as of the conference on Facebook.

2013: Launched Internet.org

In 2013, Zuckerberg launched Internet.org, an initiative to provide Internet access to the five billion people without it as of the launch date.

March 2014: Keynote Speaker at Mobile World Congress

In March 2014, Zuckerberg was the keynote speaker at the 2014 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain. He discussed expanding Internet coverage into 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

On October 23, 2014, Zuckerberg participated in a Q&A session at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, where he conversed in Mandarin Chinese.

December 8, 2014: Hosted Chinese Politician Lu Wei at Facebook HQ

On December 8, 2014, Zuckerberg hosted visiting Chinese politician Lu Wei, known as the "Internet czar," at Facebook's headquarters.

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

On December 11, 2014, Zuckerberg fielded questions during a live Q&A session at Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park.

February 2015: $75 million donation to San Francisco General Hospital

In February 2015, the couple endowed the foundation of the San Francisco General Hospital with $75 million, which was the biggest individual donation to a U.S. public hospital, and 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: Zuckerberg rebuked employees for overwriting 'Black Lives Matter' phrases

On February 24, 2016, Zuckerberg sent out a company-wide memo formally rebuking employees who had crossed out 'Black Lives Matter' phrases on company walls and had written 'All Lives Matter' in their place, considering this practice disrespectful and malicious. He also launched investigations into the incidents.

June 2016: Named Top Business Visionary

In June 2016, Business Insider named Zuckerberg one of the "Top 10 Business Visionaries Creating Value for the World".

2016: Co-founded Breakthrough Starshot

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

2016: CZI donation to create Chan Zuckerberg Biohub

In 2016, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) donated $600 million to create the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, a collaborative research space in San Francisco to foster collaboration between scientists at UCSF, UC Berkeley, and Stanford University. Biohub would jointly own intellectual property, and unlike other foundations, retained the right to commercialize any research it funds. CZ Biohub required investigators to publish manuscripts on preprints servers such as bioRxiv. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Zuckerberg also announced $25 million in grants to support local journalism and $75 million in advertisement purchases in local newspapers by Facebook, Inc.

January 2017: Zuckerberg criticized Trump's executive order on immigration

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

May 25, 2017: Received Honorary Degree from Harvard

On May 25, 2017, Zuckerberg received an honorary degree from Harvard after giving a commencement speech.

2017: Zuckerberg called for action against global warming at Harvard commencement speech

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

2018: Testimony before US Senate Committee

In 2018, on April 10 and 11, Zuckerberg testified before the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation regarding the usage of personal data by Facebook in relation to the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal. He called the whole affair a breach of trust between Aleksandr Kogan, Cambridge Analytica, and Facebook.

January 2019: Plans to Integrate Encrypted System

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

August 14, 2020: Facebook Integrates Chat Systems

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

October 1, 2020: Subpoena issued by US Senate Committee

On October 1, 2020, the US Senate Commerce Committee unanimously voted to issue subpoenas to the CEOs of three top tech firms, including Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Sundar Pichai of Google, and Jack Dorsey of Twitter, to testify about the legal immunity afforded to tech platforms under Section 230 of the Communications Act.

2020: Zuckerberg funded ballot initiative to alter California's Proposition 13

In 2020, Zuckerberg funded a state-level ballot initiative for the 2020 general election that would raise taxes by altering California's Proposition 13 to require the tax assessment of commercial and industrial properties in the state at market rate.

January 6, 2021: Attack on the US Capitol Building

On January 6, 2021, the attack on the US Capitol Building was an event that lead to Zuckerberg being questioned on March 25, 2021, before the House Energy and Commerce Committee regarding Facebook's role in the spread of misinformation and hate speech related to the attack.

March 25, 2021: Testimony before House Energy and Commerce Committee

On March 25, 2021, Zuckerberg testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee regarding Facebook's role in the spread of misinformation and hate speech.

2022: Zuckerberg Starts MMA and BJJ Training

In 2022, Mark Zuckerberg began training in mixed martial arts (MMA) and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ), openly expressing his enthusiasm for these sports.

July 2023: Zuckerberg Promoted to Blue Belt in BJJ

In July 2023, Dave Camarillo promoted Mark Zuckerberg to blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

January 2024: Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on child safety

In January 2024, Zuckerberg testified at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on child safety and social media platforms and apologized to the families of children who were victims of online abuse and harm.

August 2024: Zuckerberg expressed regret over COVID-19 censorship pressure

In an August 2024 letter to the House Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg stated he regretted not doing more to resist pressure from the Biden administration to censor content related to COVID-19. He also noted he no longer intends to donate towards election infrastructure.

January 2025: Zuckerberg commented on the new U.S. administration

In January 2025, Zuckerberg commented positively on the new U.S. administration, stating they prioritize American technology and will defend American values and interests abroad.

March 2025: Zuckerberg attempted to leverage relationship with Trump for FTC settlement

In March 2025, Zuckerberg attempted to leverage his relationship with the Trump administration to get a favorable settlement in an antitrust case where the FTC was asking for $30 billion.