Meta is suffering millionaire losses in its actions due to the excessive impulse of Mark Zuckerberg , its CEO, by the metaverse.
Mark Zuckerberg is one of the most powerful men on the internet. As CEO of Meta , he also owns Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger, as well as heavily driving the growth and adoption of the metaverse.
However, precisely this last section has caused millions of losses for the company and a sharp drop in shares, which has led shareholders to ask themselves, is it really worth their push? Can Mark Zuckerberg be fired from his job?
Zuckerberg is in full control
Mark Zuckerberg structured his company in a way that makes it nearly impossible for him to step down as CEO unless he wants to.
Meta has a dual class structure, meaning average shareholders own one type of share, Class A, while Zuckerberg and a small circle of insiders have another type, Class B.
Class B share holders get 10 votes per share, while Class A holders only get one vote, meaning Zuckerberg and other Class B shareholders are essentially untouchable.
Zuckerberg alone owns 90% of the company’s Class B shares, enough to maintain full control of the company himself.
Is there an alternative?
According to Insider , supporters of dual-class structures argue “that such control is desirable because it allows charismatic and visionary founders and entrepreneurs to execute their vision… without having to worry unduly about the performance of the stock market,” according to a 2018 CFA Institute report on the topic.
Jay Ritter, a finance professor at the University of Florida, said this logic applied to Meta investors .
“Until this year, Facebook shares had performed very well, which is one of the reasons investors have been willing to buy shares with lower voting rights,” he said.
However, 2022 has been much less auspicious, but, by the same mechanism of the company, they do not have many options left.