Mark
Zuckerberg

Since co-founding Facebook as a social network for college students in 2004, the 33-year-old has steered clear of the pitfalls that have damaged former rivals from MySpace to Twitter, creating a big-tent platform that is welcoming to everyone from Gen Z’ers to grandmas. In 2016, Facebook hit new heights, attracting 1.79 billion monthly active users and earning a projected $27 billion in revenue, and much of the credit can go to Zuckerberg.

One of his biggest focuses in recent years that has helped drive growth is getting more video on the platform.In early 2016, Zuckerberg expanded Facebook’s “video-first” strategy with the rollout of Facebook Live to the general public. He also threw down the gauntlet to ultra-hip ephemeral sharing app Snapchat, adding copycat features such as face filters to Facebook and “stories” that disappear after 24-hours to Instagram, which Facebook acquired for $1 billion in 2012.

The power of Facebook – and, by extension, Zuckerberg – was probably best demonstrated by a pair election-related controversies in 2016. First, conservatives complained that it effectively put a liberal filter on users’ news feeds. Then, following Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential race, pundits (and some within Facebook) questioned whether “fake news” disseminated via Facebook might have swayed the election. While Zuckerberg first dismissed it as “a pretty crazy idea,” the company has since pivoted into a more aggressive stance on projecting a greater sense of responsibility for the content on its platform.

And Zuckerberg has led the charge, issuing everything from multiple statements addressing the matter to a full-blown manifesto on the subject that he posted to his Facebook page. The Facebook founder has also taken in 2017 to visiting each of the 50 states in the U.S., which has prompted speculation he could eventually seek higher office, a prospect he has denied.