Greed is Good at Facebook

Yes, Mark Zuckerberg is back in the top 20 on the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans. The Facebook co-founder and CEO saw his net worth double over the past year to $19 billion.

The reason for the "Greed is Good at Facebook" article title is that Zuckerberg owns over 20% of Facebook's outstanding common stock. This is truly amazing for a founder or co-founder of any public company to exert this much control and to have retained this percentage of shares.

The business press will not emphasize this, but your reliable reporters at Think Billions will.

Zuckerberg's net worth doubled because Facebook's stock has recovered nicely in 2013. It is as simple as that.

Facebook: the ultimate job security for Mark Zuckerberg.

Facebook pays ZERO corporate taxes and celebrates!

Corporate Welfare Queen? Mark Zuckerberg?

Zuckerberg: "people underestimate us"

 

Seemingly challenging and laughing right back in his critics' faces, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says:  "I would rather be in a cycle where people underestimate us because I'd rather be underestimated. I think it gives us the latitude to go out and make some big bets."

At a technology conference in San Francisco, Zuckerberg gave his first interview since Facebook Inc.'s IPO in May, sounding very unconcerned with Wall Street, numbers, expectations or the plight of his shareholders.

Facebook investors get what they paid for

In honor of Mark Zuckerberg and his jets, flights and everything else Facebook, Elton John plays "Mark Bennie and the Jets" for us.

The Facebook hit to UBS: $350 million

ZURICH—UBS said it took a loss of more than $350 million on the ill-fated Facebook Inc. initial public offering, wiping out nearly half of its second-quarter profit, and it accused Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. of a "gross mishandling" of the stock-market listing.

Wall Street Journal article

Facebook: A Dog with Fleas

Gordon Gekko to Bud Fox - Wall Street (1987)

"Not bad, but that's a dog with different fleas."

The stock is in a nose-dive. The CEO is offering Wall Street no guidance on future operating expectations. People are now calling the company FaceBerg. Investors feel "Zucker-punched." Mark Cuban exited the stock weeks ago with a $200k hit to his personal balance sheet. The last minute over-pricing of the Facebook IPO (as recommended by the Facebook CFO) now looks like an exercise in pure greed.

But, nevertheless, and in the interest of fair reporting and commentary, the stock and the company still has fans. This is what passes for sophisticated financial analysis on Wall Street these days:

"The company's user base currently comprises the third-largest country in the world, and its emphasis on mobile platforms suggests to us that it can become the largest country in the world in a matter of years. Facebook has immense value, which may not be readily apparent from its near term earnings, but which is substantial nonetheless." - Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter

Mark Zuckerberg's credit score gets him a low mortgage rate

Bloomberg News:

Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg is giving new meaning to the term "the one percent." The Facebook Inc. (FB) founder refinanced a $5.95 million mortgage on his Palo Alto, California, home with a 30-year adjustable-rate loan starting at 1.05 percent, according to public records for the property.

Has Mark Cuban Hedged His Facebook Position?

Has Mark Cuban Hedged His Facebook Position?


There are five (correct) answers to this question. They are (in no particular order):

a. who knows?
b. he'd be stupid if he wasn't
c. Broadcast.com
d. Yep, he's gotta to be
e. Yes, his silence (no posts or tweets) on this means only one thing

First, let's take a look at Mark Cuban's current (disclosed) Facebook position---

(Long) 150,000 shares; average cost per share $32.49; total cost $4,873,500

Based on a 6/1/12 FB close at $27.72, Cuban looks like he is sitting on a net (paper) loss of $715,500.

Do we begin to worry and feel sorry for Mark Cuban and his Facebook trade? No, because we only can see his paper loss. No, because he already told us this is a trade, not a long term investment. No, because with an original FB position of nearly $5 million, he has a vested interest in monitoring trade. No, because Mark Cuban doesn't like to lose money. No, because Mark Cuban isn't stupid.

Back in 1995 Mark Cuban and partner created Broadcast.com, a multimedia company. Years later they sold the company to Yahoo! for $5.7 billion in 1999. But, Cuban then owned restricted Yahoo! stock that was locked up. Cuban was at risk owning (temporarily) illiquid Yahoo stock. Cuban was at substantial risk. Cuban didn't want to accept that risk. Mark Cuban wanted to transfer that risk to the options market. So, Cuban says he "hedged my stock with synthetic indexes, in case the market cratered in the six months before I could hedge my actual Yahoo shares. It cost me $20 million, but I protected what I had." (Fast Company, September 30, 2002).

In January 2000, Cuban bought the Dallas Mavericks, NBA franchise.

In May 2012, Cuban bought a little under $5 million of Facebook stock.

Mark Cuban is hedged.

More Facebook Lawsuits

As predicted by Think Billions, more lawsuits against Facebook

Facebook Inc(NASDAQ:FB): Milberg LLP Announces Class Action Lawsuits Filed Against Facebook, Inc. | Mesh Press

The complaints charge Facebook, certain of its officers and directors, and underwriters of the IPO with violations of the Securities Act of 1933.

Zuckers!

Billionaire Facebook Couple in Chinese Documentary

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan unknowingly appeared in a recent China Central Television (CCTV) documentary filmed earlier this year while the couple was visiting Shanghai . The image has now gone viral across the internet.

Mrs. Facebook, a simple creature, a simple billionaire

Who is Priscilla Chan?


Well, according to Priscilla herself, she is but a "simple creature."

Now, that simple creature instantly has a most complex life ahead of her.

The newlyweds, Mr. and Dr. Chan-Zuckerberg, both went to college at Harvard and have been together for nine years.

And they tied the knot in a very private and modest event in California this month with fewer than 100 in attendance.  Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong entertained the guests.

Of course Mark announced this event on his Facebook page when he changed his relationship status to "married."

Congratulations to Mr. and Dr. Chan-Zuckerberg! Think Billions wishes you both well!

Facebook shares crash - E-Trade baby loses everything

Facebook shares crash in Day 2 of NASDAQ trading. E-Trade baby loses everything. Panic selling hits once hot IPO. Mark Zuckerberg on honeymoon. Chief underwriter, Morgan Stanley, repeats opinion that it "nailed the IPO price." Groupon already running a special on Facebook shares. Investor lawsuits may be a liquidity event for lawyers.

“We’re witnessing a lot of American wealth getting created. It opens a new chapter, an exciting chapter, for business in this country,” --- Carl Campanile, CNBC regular propagandist

Zuckers!

Fading Facebook: IPO opens at $42 and then massive sell volume

Facebook Friday is here as shares initially jump on the open NASDAQ in first day of trade. 

Over 60% of the FB float changes hands. Bill Gross calls it a bubble. Looks like a classic pump and dump.

Eduardo Saverin of Facebook kisses the U. S. Goodbye

Eduardo Saverin on Forbes - #634 Forbes Billionaires, #212 Forbes 400

Eduardo Saverin,  Brazilian-born American internet entrepreneur and co-founder of Facebook, has just renounced his US citizenship.

An obvious preview and bet on US tax policy in 2013.

Warren Buffett, please answer your Macroeconomic Tax Policy phone line.

NASDAQ wins the Facebook listing contest

The Nasdaq Stock Market, the market that few people know what that darn acronym actually stands for [except Think Billion$: National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations], has won the Facebook derby for new stock listings.

Facebook Inc. plans to list its shares on the NASDAQ Stock Market, not the NYSE - New York Stock Exchange.

Facebook, based in Menlo Park, CA, filed in February 2012 to raise $5 billion in the largest Internet IPO on record.

All Hail, King Zuckerberg!

Beware the king: Zuckerberg’s voting power a risk to shareholders | VentureBeat

As VentureBeat’s Jolie O’Dell pointed out yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg managed to strike a deal with some key investors and friends that gives him 57 percent of the shareholder voting power. For a public company, it’s an almost unheard of concentration of authority, a troubling sign for those who focus on shareholder rights.

“The public has no say in the control of the board, which in my view is terribly harmful to any notion of accountability,” Charles Elson, a University of Delaware corporate-governance professor, told Bloomberg. ”It’s very troubling to investors, and it’s a bad bet for them.”

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is still working on that security flaw

Private photos belonging to Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg were revealed as a result of a recent glitch in the system used to report inappropriate images on the social network. They got attention after being uploaded to an album on photo-sharing service Imgur.

A $100 billion IPO for Facebook in 2012

Facebook Inc., the private social networking service located in Palo Alto, California will be going IPO in 2012 (initial public offering).

Will you be an investor?

Facebook, currently, is targeting dates between April 2012 and June 2012 for an initial public offering of its common stock. The company would raise approximately $10 billion in an IPO that would result in Facebook being valued at more than $100 billion.

Hey Facebook, give me half the company!

Fraud case against Facebook goes down in defeat

Winklevoss twins fraud case: Is 'Social Network' saga finally over?


The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday that the brothers cannot back out of a settlement with giant social networking firm Facebook over claims that Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea.