New Facebook Fundraising Makes Zuckerberg A Far Richer Billionaire

Original Post: http://blogs.forbes.com/kerryadolan/2011/01/03/new-facebook-fundraising-makes-zuckerberg-a-far-richer-billionaire/?boxes=Homepagelighttop

by Kerry A. Dolan. Shades of Green. Jan. 3 2011 - 1:36 am

Facebook has raised another $500 million from Goldman Sachs and Russian investor Digital Sky Technologies, at a valuation for Facebook of $50 billion, the New York Times reports. That makes Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg worth more than twice the $6.9 billion Forbes said he was worth in September 2010 –when Facebook was valued at $23 billion.

It probably won’t change Zuckerberg’s low-key lifestyle, but the jump in net worth will, as the New York Times noted, put Zuckerberg closer to the ranks of Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, both worth $15 billion as of Forbes’ Sept. 2010 ranking of the 400 Richest Americans.

The latest fundraising will also boost the billionaire fortunes of two other Facebook co-founders, Dustin Moskovitz (worth $1.8 billion on the 2010 Forbes 400) and Eduardo Saverin (worth $1.15 billion on the 2010 Forbes 400). Moskovitz left Facebook in 2008 to start another company, Asana; Saverin helped Zuckerberg found Facebook but stayed on to graduate from Harvard while Zuckerberg and Moskovitz dropped out.

It should also make the Winklevoss twins think twice about appealing their settlement with Facebook. The pair recently told the New York Times that they got a raw deal when settling for $40 million in shares and $25 million in cash with Facebook. As each month passes, the value of those shares just keeps climbing. I’ve said before that they are better off not appealing (See “Twin’s Facebook Fight Rages On“)

The New York Times reported that in the latest fundraising, Goldman Sachs put in $450 million, and Digital Sky Technologies, already an investor in Facebook, put in $50 million. It added that Goldman Sachs will start a special purpose vehicle to let its high-net worth clients invest in Facebook. That will put it in competition with several brokers, including Felix Investments, EB Exchange Funds and GreenCrest Capital, which have been buying shares of Facebook from ex-employees and selling them to accredited (high net worth) individual investors and hedge funds by creating limited liability companies (See “Frenzy for Facebook Shares Heats Up With New Auction“)

Anyone want to wager a guess on when Facebook raises another large round of cash?