Talented people are talented in everything. Fencing, programming, knowledge of languages, psychology is far from a complete list of the hidden possibilities of the young purposeful guy Mark Zuckerberg. He managed to turn his favorite pastime into a profitable business, creating a world-famous social network. Today, Facebook is one of the five most visited sites, and its founder has become the youngest billionaire on the planet. What led an ordinary guy to success?
Mark Zuckerberg: biography, first steps
The future programmer was born in a family of doctors in the town of White Plains (USA). Zuckerberg’s father found himself in dentistry, and his mother in psychiatry. Mark Elliott has 3 sisters - the eldest Randy and the younger Donna and Ariel.
Mark's acquaintance with information technology occurred quite early, at 10 years old. The guy received a gift from his father, Edward Zuckerberg, - the first PC. Surprise was a contribution to the future education of his son. Computers and digital radiography have just begun to be applied in work, and senior Zuckerberg actively used this advantage. Edward became Mark's first mentor by teaching him the Basic programming language. The child was so carried away by the new activity that after a couple of years he was writing the ZuckNet program to improve the work of his father's dental clinic. The program allowed Edward, who was in the office, to communicate with his family and assistants.
In his spare time, a talented child created computer games and received additional knowledge from a private tutor.
Zuckerberg's Versatility
Passion for programming was not Mark's only area of expertise. Studying at the Phillips Exeter Academy, a smart guy was fond of literature, mathematics, languages and fencing. In his resume to the university, Mark indicated knowledge of languages such as French, Latin, Ancient Greek, and Hebrew. Often in literature classes, Zuckerberg quoted excerpts from the works in the original.
The sports achievements of the future billionaire were also outstanding. Passion for fencing led to the dominant position of the captain in the school team.
The first successes in programming
Despite success in many areas, Mark's heart and soul belonged to programming. While studying at the academy, Zuckerberg, along with his classmate Adam D’Angelo, wrote the Synapse program. The invention was a music player that was able to analyze the tastes of the owner and, according to the information received, create playlists. This program was created for personal use, but the creators shared it with the public on a special site. The creation was noticed by two well-known companies, Microsoft and AOL, and Zuckerberg received an offer to sell the product and then work together. However, the guy decided to refuse the global IT giants, substantiating his decision with the words that "inspiration is not for sale."
Instead of concluding an agreement with world leaders, Zuckerberg enrolled at prestigious Harvard University with a degree in Psychology.
University studies
At Harvard, Mark carefully studied psychology, not forgetting the improvement of programming skills. Zuckerberg was a member of the Jewish student society Alpha Insilon Pee, studied diligently and attended computer courses.
The second year of study was marked by the creation of two computer programs.The first invention, called CourseMatch, helped students make their choice of subjects based on the experiences of other students. The second creation was called Facemash and lasted only 2 days. The program was to choose one of the most attractive of the two students. Thus, a list of the most popular students of the university was formed. The invention had real photographs of students, which was the reason for a large number of complaints and the closure of the project. Zuckerberg admitted to breaking into the Harvard database, but explained his behavior with the usual desire to make a joke.
Soon, everyone forgot about the failed joke. However, the incident was decisive for three of his fellow students who were picking up a team to create a new HarvardConnection.com project. Mark played an important role in programming social networks. Zuckerberg accepted the offer, but soon left the project because he was busy with another creation.
The birth of Facebook
Work on the site started in January 2004. Second-year student Mark Zuckerberg registered a domain called thefacebook, and already in early February, the project saw the world. Initially, it was a social network for communication among Harvard students. About a thousand people registered on the site per day, and a month later a good half of the students had their own page on the social network.
The growth of the site required more people to work on it. Mark was joined by classmates Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskowitz, Andrew McCollum, Chris Hugs. Thanks to the efforts and financial investments, in a few months the network became available for Stanford, Columbia and Yale. Over time, the list was replenished, including Ivy League universities, higher education institutions of Canada and the USA.
The development of the social network was rapid and successful. In the summer of 2004, Facebook was created, with Sean Parker as president, and Mark Zuckerberg as CEO. The guy decided to take an example from Bill Gates and quit training at Harvard, fully devoting himself to the project.
A new page in the history of Facebook began in 2005 when the facebook.com domain was acquired. From that moment, Mark Zuckerberg's social network not only became a place for students to communicate, but also made it possible for anyone who wants to plunge into the electronic world.
Three years later, Mark Zuckerberg was recognized as the youngest billionaire in the world, and his project continued to flourish. Today, Facebook has more than 1 billion users.
Interesting Facts
Below are some interesting facts about the Mark:
- Zuckerberg came up with the name Facebook by accident when he stumbled upon the school book The Photo Address Book, which presented photos and personal data of all students.
- Zuckerberg does not distinguish between green and red, blue is very good. That is why the latter is the main color of the site.
- The Facebook network was the impetus for the creation of the film "Social Network".
- The creation of one of the most popular social networks involves litigation. Zuckerberg’s classmates accused him of stealing his own ideas, and one of the sponsors of the project was not satisfied with the reduction in his initial share.
- Facebook shares have become the largest initial public offering of technology companies around the world on the New York Stock Exchange.
Meet your future wife
Mark Zuckerberg met his wife Priscilla Chan at a student party at Harvard. They met for nine years and in 2012 finally legalized their relationship. The wedding ceremony was held in a circle of loved ones. Initially, the event involved the celebration of a successful graduation of the future wife and the placement of Facebook shares on the stock exchange. However, the couple presented an unexpected surprise and announced their wedding.
The choice of a billionaire has American and Chinese roots.The girl studied at the Harvard Department of Biology, and then at the College of Medicine in San Francisco, at the Department of Pediatrics. In 2015, Priscilla began work on the opening of a special school in which elements of education and health promotion will be present.
Despite the enormous fortune, the couple is not a regular at parties and social events, preferring board games and outdoor walks.
The first experience of fatherhood
Mark and Priscilla for a long time dreamed of replenishing the family, but the girl had miscarriages. In December 2015, the first child of Mark Zuckerberg was born. Maxim Chan's daughter (Max) lit up the social network with her appearance a few days after birth. The non-superstitious Mark Zuckerberg posted the photo with the child on his personal Facebook page. Joyful dad took a two-month vacation to enjoy the happiness of fatherhood.
Charity
In 2010, the billionaire joined the Oath of Giving charity, which urges wealthy people to give half their capital to those in need.
Mark Zuckerberg with his wife and children (they are still part of the young couple’s plans) will give to charity 99 percent of Facebook shares (today about $ 45 billion) that they own. Joyful spouses made such a statement after the birth of their daughter. The future should open up opportunities for everyone, regardless of their social status and financial well-being.
In addition, Zuckerberg supported the Diaspora project, which was a direct competitor to Facebook. Mark has allocated 100 thousand dollars for the development of an open source social network. The billionaire has shown concern for the development of public schools in New Arch. Mark Zuckerberg donated $ 100 million to improve them.
Visiting Russia
In 2012, Mark Zuckerberg flew to the Russian Federation. After spending three days on its territory, the young billionaire managed to complete many important missions. One of them was a meeting with the Prime Minister of Russia. Mark also gave a lecture for students at Moscow State University. To get to the meeting, you had to register. The number of applicants exceeded the capacity of the audience, so a lottery was held among the participants. At the lecture, the billionaire shared with the audience the story of the creation of the famous social network and told his story. In addition, Zuckerberg took part in several Russian programs and was actively involved in the international conference created by him. The conference discussed the benefits of the Facebook network, the most important of which is a huge number of active users.
Titles of Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg has already won the following titles:
- The youngest billionaire in the world according to Forbes magazine.
- Man of the Year 2010 according to Time magazine.
- The most tastelessly dressed billionaire according to GQ magazine.
Mark Zuckerberg, whose photo you see in the article, is a young, successful person. He managed to achieve a lot thanks to his perseverance and hard work. Let us wish him success and prosperity!
