Mark Zuckerberg to earn $700M a year from Meta dividend despite child safety backlash

Mark Zuckerberg will earn $700 million per year through Meta’s new quarterly dividend – an astronomical payout announced just one day after he faced outrage on Capitol Hill over a failure to protect children from online sex abuse and exploitation.

The 39-year-old tech tycoon’s payday stems from Meta’s plans disclosed late Thursday to pay a quarterly cash dividend of 50 cents per share of common stock beginning this March.

Since Zuckerberg owns about 350 million shares, he will rake in approximately $175 million per fiscal quarter before taxes, according to Bloomberg data – or $700 million annually.

The company also announced $50 billion in stock buybacks. Meta shares swelled 20% Friday to a record close of $474.99 — a stock move that sent Zuckerberg’s wealth soaring by $28 billion.

The windfall could further enrage critics who have argued for years that he has prioritized profits over child safety on Facebook and Instagram – despite warnings that kids are bombarded with disturbing content on topics like suicide and anorexia and disgusting messages from alleged predators.

“Shame on Mark Zuckerberg for prioritizing earning his next billion over the wellbeing and safety of the young people who make up his core user base,” said Josh Golin, executive director of online safety advocate Fairplay. “Rather than purchasing his 29th home, we hope he’ll use his new windfall to establish a victim’s compensation fund.”