Zuckerberg overtakes Brin as world’s fifth richest on Meta’s Muse-fueled rally

Mark Zuckerberg overtook Google co-founder Sergey Brin on Wednesday to become the fifth-wealthiest person in the world, riding a wave of investor enthusiasm around Meta Platforms' ↗ 1.02% new AI personal assistant, Muse. According to Forbes, Zuckerberg's net worth reached $256.8 billion, edging past Brin, whose fortune fell to $255.4 billion as Alphabet ↘ 3.58% shares dropped 3.5% during the session.forbes

Meta's stock rose more than 2% on Wednesday, topping $750 per share by early afternoon, and extending a rally that has lifted the stock more than 34% over the past month. The surge began shortly after the September 8 launch of Muse, an AI agent that can send emails, book travel, make purchases, and manage schedules on a user's behalf.brandspurng+1

A Record-Setting Week for Zuckerberg

Monday proved especially lucrative for Zuckerberg. Meta shares jumped 11.4%, closing at $741.24, which added an estimated $27.3 billion to his net worth in a single session — more than the combined daily gains of the other nine people in the Forbes top-10 list. At that point he still trailed Brin by roughly $14.5 billion, but Wednesday's divergence in Meta and Alphabet stock prices completed the leapfrog.finance.yahoo+1

Muse Downloads Outpace ChatGPT

The catalyst behind the rally is Muse's rapid consumer adoption. According to Sensor Tower data reported by CNBC, the app logged 2.5 million downloads in its first 13 days, surpassing Claude and Grok over the same post-launch window. Muse reached the top of Apple's free iPhone app chart in the United States just 10 days after release. JPMorgan analysts said earlier this week that Muse could "emerge as the most widely adopted consumer AI application since ChatGPT," according to Reuters. Wells Fargo raised its Meta price target from $640 to $796 while retaining an overweight rating.cnbc+2

Meta Connect Takes the Stage

Zuckerberg is scheduled to deliver a keynote at Meta Connect 2026 on Wednesday at 4 p.m. PT. The company is expected to unveil new hardware, including a mixed-reality headset codenamed Phoenix and a pair of camera-free smart glasses designed to address privacy concerns. Meta also recently announced Petal, a proposed 7,000-kilometer subsea cable connecting the United States and France, underscoring the infrastructure ambitions behind its AI push.roadtovr+4