Biography
Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook and has served as its chief executive and a director since July 2004, and as chairman since January 2012. Under his direction the company — renamed Meta Platforms in 2021 — acquired and operates Instagram and WhatsApp.
Control of the Company
Meta’s dual-class share structure gives Zuckerberg an unusual degree of control for the chief executive of a public company. Its most recent annual report states that he “is able to exercise voting rights with respect to a majority of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock and therefore has the ability to control the outcome of all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors and any merger, consolidation, or sale.” Facebook’s 2012 registration statement had already described him as “our largest and controlling stockholder.”
This matters for the political history of the platforms: decisions about political advertising, fact-checking partnerships, and the treatment of officials’ accounts were made inside a company in which no shareholder vote could overrule the founder.
Congressional Testimony
Zuckerberg testified before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on April 11, 2018, at a hearing titled “Facebook: Transparency and Use of Consumer Data,” held after disclosures about Cambridge Analytica’s use of Facebook user data. He has appeared before congressional committees on several subsequent occasions.
Direct Publication
Meta’s annual report designates Zuckerberg’s own Facebook, Instagram and Threads accounts as official channels through which the company discloses material non-public information under Regulation FD — a formal acknowledgement that the founder’s personal posting is a corporate disclosure mechanism.
Sources
- 01.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Facebook, Inc. Registration Statement (Form S-1). (2012). Filed February 1, 2012. Management section: 'Mark Zuckerberg is our founder and has served as our CEO and as a member of our board of directors since July 2004. Mr. Zuckerberg has served as Chairman of our board of directors since January 2012,' and describes him as 'our largest and controlling stockholder.'
- 02.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Meta Platforms, Inc. Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025. (2026). Filed January 29, 2026, signed by Zuckerberg as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Risk factors state: 'Mark Zuckerberg, our founder, Chairman, and CEO, is able to exercise voting rights with respect to a majority of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock and therefore has the ability to control the outcome of all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval.' The filing also lists Zuckerberg's Facebook, Instagram and Threads accounts among the company's designated channels for disclosing material non-public information under Regulation FD.
- 03.
U.S. Government Publishing Office. Facebook: Transparency and Use of Consumer Data — Hearing before the Committee on Energy and Commerce, House of Representatives, 115th Congress, Serial No. 115-114. (2018). Hearing of April 11, 2018 at which Zuckerberg testified as chief executive officer of Facebook. Source for the fact and date of his testimony before the House committee.