Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently celebrated his 40th birthday, and besides the attention-grabbing party on a luxurious yacht, his personal transformation has also been heavily discussed. Various media outlets have been quick to point out that Zuckerberg has become “cool,” shedding his previous image as a stiff bookworm.
On May 14th, Zuckerberg invited several friends and family members to celebrate his birthday on a $300 million yacht. Even Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates attended the party and took a photo with Zuckerberg in a room decorated to resemble their college dorm.
Zuckerberg’s wife, Priscilla Chan, took a photo of him at the party that caught everyone’s attention. It revealed that Zuckerberg has completely reinvented his appearance and is now undeniably a stylish and trendy guy.
In the photo, Zuckerberg is sitting in a room designed to look like his childhood bedroom, surrounded by retro CRT monitors, trophies, thick programming books, and a picture frame with childhood photos. He’s sporting curly hair, a flashy gold necklace, and a black T-shirt with a Gothic Latin quote from the ancient Roman politician Cato the Elder that says, “Carthage must be destroyed” – a slogan Facebook used in its past competition with Google. Former Meta employees recall that this quote was once posted all over the company campus.
It’s worth mentioning that Zuckerberg is a passionate fan of ancient Rome, as all three of his daughters are named after Roman emperors. His eldest daughter, Maxima, is named after Magnus Maximus from the 4th century AD. His second daughter, August, is named after the first Roman emperor, Augustus. And his youngest daughter, Aurelia, born last year, is named after one of the “Five Good Emperors” of Rome, Aurelius.
Zuckerberg’s recent change in appearance didn’t happen overnight. When he introduced Meta’s new AI model, Llama 3, in April, he was already dressed similarly, and netizens were quick to comment on how stylish he looked. However, the latest photo further emphasizes that Zuckerberg has truly transformed.
In the past, Zuckerberg was always seen with short hair, wearing simple T-shirts or suits, and was considered the epitome of a Silicon Valley nerd. His stiff demeanor during his congressional testimony in 2018 even led people to jokingly call him a robot. No one ever associated him with being trendy or stylish.
“I’m not a cool person, and I’ve never tried to be cool,” Zuckerberg once said in 2014, revealing that he didn’t care much about his appearance and preferred to focus on his work. “If I spend my energy on dumb or trivial things, it makes me feel like I’m not doing my job well.”
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when Zuckerberg started changing his image. When he traveled to Japan in February, he had a unique style, wearing smart glasses created by Meta in collaboration with Ray-Ban and a wool coat reportedly worth $1,000. And a year ago, when there were rumors of a possible fight between him and Elon Musk, he released photos showing off his trained muscles, which received over 2 million likes on Instagram.
The CEO’s image is closely tied to the company itself. In 2021, Meta revealed that it spent nearly $27 million on security expenses for Zuckerberg, causing a stir as this figure far surpassed what other tech company CEOs spent on security. Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who spent the second-highest amount, only used $4.3 million.
Meta’s explanation at the time was that Zuckerberg had become synonymous with the company and was increasingly under intense scrutiny from the media and regulatory bodies. “Negative sentiments towards our company are often associated with, or even directly transferred to, Mr. Zuckerberg,” they said.
Conversely, if Zuckerberg has a more approachable image and a fashionable appearance, it could potentially reduce hostility towards Meta or ease regulatory constraints on the company.
Especially as Meta has faced increasing scrutiny in recent years, with the US government reopening investigations into its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp for possible antitrust violations, accusations of child exploitation on Instagram, and constant criticism of the platform being flooded with misinformation.
“Personal style is a communication tool,” said fashion influencer and founder of marketing platform LTK, Amber Venz Box. “Our appearance conveys a lot of messages and can influence people’s perceptions.”
It remains to be seen whether Zuckerberg’s personal style transformation will bring tangible benefits to Meta. However, at the very least, it has garnered more positive reviews from internet users and the media compared to the past when he was mocked for being robotic and nerdy.
Sources:
TechCrunch, Business Insider, The Guardian
Further reading:
Why did Zuckerberg spend $77 million on security last year, 15 times more than Bezos? How does Meta justify the hefty cost of protecting its executives?