Tech

Mark Zuckerberg

Launched Facebook from a Harvard dorm room in 2004; retained voting control through the 2012 IPO.

Born: 1984 · White Plains, New York, US
Roots: Jewish American
Family: Affluent; Affluent household — dentist father, psychiatrist mother; had a private computer tutor as a child.
Education: Phillips Exeter Academy → Harvard (dropped out)
Started with: ~$1,000; Initial server costs, split with co-founder Eduardo Saverin.
Affiliations & societies: Alpha Epsilon PiDocumented; Joined the Jewish fraternity at Harvard.; Information only — claims like these are often unverifiable and may be wrong.

The pathway

1996 · age 11
ZuckNet
Writes a messaging program used in his father's dental office.
2002 · age 18
Synapse media player
Builds it in high school; declines acquisition interest and enrolls at Harvard.
2003 · age 19
Facemash
The site is shut down by Harvard's administration; he receives disciplinary probation.
2004 · age 19
Launches TheFacebook~$1K
From his dorm room, with several co-founders.
2004 · age 20
Drops out, moves to Palo Alto$500K
Peter Thiel invests as the first outside backer.
2006 · age 22
Declines Yahoo's offer$1B declined
The board turns down a $1B acquisition offer.
2012 · age 28
IPO$104B
Listed at a ~$104B valuation; dual-class shares keep his voting control.
2021 · age 37
Renames the company Meta

Sources

Compiled from these references and contemporaneous press reporting. Figures are approximate; verify before relying on them.