22 year old Facebook founder turns down 1 Billion dollars !!!

[Guest BlackJesus]

[b][size=3][u][quote][img]http://events.caltech.edu/images_events/051110VV.jpg[/img]
Web kid with attitude says sucks to $1bn
Paul Durman
Times Online[/u][/size][/b]


[b]AT 22, Mark Zuckerberg, a Harvard dropout, is being labelled as the next Bill Gates[/b] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons//30.gif[/img] . But even the Microsoft founder might have hesitated before blowing the chance of a $1.6 billion (£819m) offer for his fledgling business.

[b]Zuckerberg, founder of the Facebook social networking website, has told Yahoo!, the internet giant, that $1 billion is not enough to sell out.[/b] Now leaked documents suggest that Yahoo! was willing to raise its bid to $1.6 billion.

Facebook, which he launched as a service for Harvard students in 2004, has become the seventh busiest website on the internet, and with 13m users is the second biggest social network in America.

It has also become popular on British campuses, partly because it allows users to ensure that only people from their own university or place of work are put in touch.

However, it has also been blamed for carrying abuse about students and tutors. In one case, an Oxford University don found that someone had created a false profile in his name, claiming that he had been a member of the Hitler Youth. Although Facebook does have a facility to report unpleasant comments, few universities have the resources to patrol its pages.

There have also been warnings that students who post embarrassing personal material on the site could find it being used against them by future employers.

[b]Zuckerberg cultivates the appearance of a dishevelled student[/b] but he keeps a tight grip on his company. [b][size=3]He used to hand out business cards which said “I’m CEO . . . bitch” [/size][/b] and has [b]joked that the company is aiming for “world domination”.[/b]

[size=3][b]His stake in the company is thought to be about 30%, worth $500m[/b] [/size] at the highest of Yahoo!’s valuations. Industry sources suggest that he has rebuffed suitors because he thinks he can do even better and because he does not relish the restrictions of corporate life.

[b]One story has it that Microsoft had to abandon a planned 8am conference call with Zuckerberg because he said that he would still be in bed then.[/b] Zuckerberg, who often [b]turns up to his office[/b] in Palo Alto, California, [b]wearing Adidas sandals[/b], took exception to a drawing in The Wall Street Journal because it showed him wearing a shirt with a collar instead of [b]his habitual T-shirt. [/b]

Yahoo!’s $1.6 billion valuation of Facebook assumed that its rapid growth would continue until 2015, according to documents leaked to TechCrunch, a Silicon Valley blog.

Yahoo!’s projections suggested that Facebook would grow to have 52.5m registered users in America by 2015, or 60% of students and young adults using the internet there. It assumed a boom in advertising which would eventually enable Facebook to generate annual profits of $1 billion. Yet its revenues at present are modest and its audience could evaporate if new rivals emerge.

In the UK it trails the market leaders, MySpace and Bebo. MySpace is owned by News Corporation, parent company of The Sunday Times.

Zuckerberg’s parallels with Gates extend beyond the fact that they both started their companies at 19. Like Gates, [b]Zuckerberg comes from a privileged background. The son of a dentist and a psychologist, he was brought up in Westchester County, New York, and attended an elite prep school in New Hampshire.[/b] He began computer programming at 10.

Jim Breyer, a director of Facebook, said that when he first had dinner with Zuckerberg, his future business partner was under age and had to order Sprite instead of wine.

Breyer said there was no rush to cash in on the second internet boom — sometimes known as Web 2.0. “We are hoping to build a significant standalone company that could go public on Nasdaq the technology stock market],” he said. “Over the past three months we have made excellent progress in attracting young adults aged 22-30.” He declined to comment on the document valuing Facebook at $1.6 billion.

Yahoo! declined to comment on the leaked documents. It is highly unusual for such sensitive financial information to become public. The company’s news, e-mail and entertainment services make it the world’s biggest web business when measured by pages viewed.

However, Yahoo! has been overtaken by Google in terms of profit and market value and is struggling after a difficult year.

Users of social network sites spend a lot of time on them, adding to their potential value as an advertising medium. MySpace, with 140m registered users, is predicted to overtake Yahoo! as the world’s biggest website.[/quote]



[url="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2508776_2,00.html"]http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,20...08776_2,00.html[/url]

[Guest BlackJesus]

[center][b] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/37.gif[/img] [size=3]Good to know we live in a economic model where this little shitbag is "Supposedly" worth more than most African nations .... [/size] [/b] [/center]


[center][img]http://www.bumpbox.com/files/Chubbs/Image/8-5-2006/bw_markzuckberg.jpg[/img][/center]

[Guest BengalsOwn]

It'd be hard to sell it when considering this:

[quote]It assumed a boom in advertising which would eventually enable Facebook to generate annual profits of $1 billion.[/quote]

If it were me, I'd sell, and live it up. It'd be pretty satisfying to know that every single person in your entire family until the end of the world won't have to worry about money again as long as you are smart about what you do with the money...

[Guest Tigris]

who gives a shit? the dude hit it big with a great idea.

if he wants to live life that way, let him. he's the one who had the idea and made it happen. don't hate on the guy because he doesn't care about interviews and appears to be somewhat lazy. i'd do the same thing... live the life, have fun.

i personally would have sold it for a billion, though... i assume a lot of attention comes with being the creator and owner, or CEO, whatever... im sure he's having one hell of a time

[-GoBengals-]

[quote name='BlackJesus' post='408355' date='Dec 17 2006, 12:11 PM'][center][b] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/37.gif[/img] [size=3]Good to know we live in a economic model where this little shitbag is "Supposedly" worth more than most African nations .... [/size] [/b] [/center]
[center][img]http://www.bumpbox.com/files/Chubbs/Image/8-5-2006/bw_markzuckberg.jpg[/img][/center][/quote]

gee i sure wish we were all poor and didnt have food.... america sucks!!!!!111 having opportunities is bullshit!!!!111

[Jamie_B]

Its nice to know we are all lucky enough to be born in a country that allows us these oppurtinutes, Id hate to think what it would be like if we wernt that lucky.

[Guest Tigris]

[quote name='GoBengals' post='408361' date='Dec 17 2006, 12:24 PM']gee i sure wish we were all poor and didnt have food.... america sucks!!!!!111 having opportunities is bullshit!!!!111[/quote]

no kidding.

what the hell? im not going to go outside in the field and starve myself just because other people do. (i know, it's sad, but what am I suppose to do?)

[quote name='Jamie_B' post='408367' date='Dec 17 2006, 12:31 PM']Its nice to know we are all lucky enough to be born in a country that allows us these oppurtinutes, Id hate to think what it would be like if we wernt that lucky.[/quote]

very lucky

[Guest mongoloido]

I don't get hating a kid and a country because they can make money. What's wrong is all the crap that has African Nations worth pennies, not the kid who can turn a great idea into boatloads of cash.

[-Dan_Bengals_FL-]

I used facebook while in college. I found it useful if you missed a class and needed to contact someone for an assignment or something like that.

But damn, I would have taken that cash and said peaceeeeeeeee.

[Jamie_B]

Now of course being that lucky SHOULD make us responsible for helping those who are not that lucky, however that isnt always the reality. Some would rather live it up.

[Guest BlackJesus]

[b]My criticism is with an economic model that inflates somethings "value".


I believe that what we have is a perversion of the premise that one should recieve pay for the fruits of their labor.


What we have here in my mind is a model where he sets up the structure ... and then everyone else actually creates the product (their page) .... hence the users are his employees. However they recieve none of the profits from it. Creating a situation where millions of people spend hundreds of hours adding to his company (with their pages) and meanwhile he sleeps in bed all day counting the billions he is making.


How in the fuck can you justify that this kid is more productive that 20 million laborers .... or that he produces more than many small nations ..... he doesn't .... he exists in an economic model that is totally out of whack. [/b]

[Guest A-Men-HouseofPain]

[quote name='Dan_Bengals_NJ' post='408370' date='Dec 17 2006, 12:41 PM']I used facebook while in college. I found it useful if you missed a class and needed to contact someone for an assignment or something like that.

But damn, I would have taken that cash and said peaceeeeeeeee.[/quote]
you should have gone to class.

[Guest mongoloido]

[quote name='BlackJesus' post='408379' date='Dec 17 2006, 12:52 PM'][b]My criticism is with an economic model that inflates somethings "value".
I believe that what we have is a perversion of the premise that one should recieve pay for the fruits of their labor.
What we have here in my mind is a model where he sets up the structure ... and then everyone else actually creates the product (their page) .... hence the users are his employees. However they recieve none of the profits from it. Creating a situation where millions of people spend hundreds of hours adding to his company (with their pages) and meanwhile he sleeps in bed all day counting the billions he is making.
How in the fuck can you justify that this kid is more productive that 20 million laborers .... or that he produces more than many small nations ..... he doesn't .... he exists in an economic model that is totally out of whack. [/b][/quote]


I don't see the issue. He provided a service people wanted, and he made his product better than other similar services. People are willing to pay for, and invest in, entertainment. Many millions of laborers and small nations are so screwed up and produce next to nothing. That shouldn't be thrown against someone who's found success, unless that person is doing it on the backs of those millions of laborers, or those small nations. It should serve as notice that those workers and nations need some fixing. I don't believe for a second this kid shouldn't have the chance to turn an idea into millions and millions of dollars. I believe all those piss poor nations of people should have that same right, and those same opportunities...

I'd rather see people lifted up, than others pulled down.

[CatScratchFever]

[quote name='BlackJesus' post='408355' date='Dec 17 2006, 12:11 PM'][center][b] [img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/37.gif[/img] [size=3]Good to know we live in a economic model where this little shitbag is "Supposedly" worth more than most African nations .... [/size] [/b] [/center][/quote]
Maybe Africa ought to step it up a bit, then...

[-GoBengals-]

[quote name='CatScratchFever' post='408721' date='Dec 17 2006, 05:57 PM']Maybe Africa ought to step it up a bit, then...[/quote]

[Nati Ice]

yeah! how dare the guy who started his own company do whatever the hell he wants with it in a free market economy! i mean how silly that thought process must be? come on man, just sell it all to the neighborhood monopoly!

[Guest Tigris]

[quote name='BlackJesus' post='408379' date='Dec 17 2006, 12:52 PM'][b]My criticism is with an economic model that inflates somethings "value".
I believe that what we have is a perversion of the premise that one should recieve pay for the fruits of their labor.
What we have here in my mind is a model where he sets up the structure ... and then everyone else actually creates the product (their page) .... hence the users are his employees. However they recieve none of the profits from it. Creating a situation where millions of people spend hundreds of hours adding to his company (with their pages) and meanwhile he sleeps in bed all day counting the billions he is making.
[i]How in the fuck can you justify that this kid is more productive that 20 million laborers [/i] .... or that he produces more than many small nations ..... he doesn't .... he exists in an economic model that is totally out of whack. [/b][/quote]

Where'd that come from? Unless I didn't read or see something (which has been happening lately), I don't think anyone said anything about what he did being more productive than Africa... though he is, for me anyway. I used facebook and I've never ate a yam.

[MULLY]

I'd like to have that kind of wealth. I liked the part where they couldn't schedule a meeting with him at 8:00am because he said he would be in bed at that time. Damn fucking straight. I wish I had that power.
MULLY

[Guest BengalsOwn]

[quote name='CatScratchFever' post='408721' date='Dec 17 2006, 05:57 PM']Maybe Africa ought to step it up a bit, then...[/quote]

[img]http://forum.go-bengals.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/24.gif[/img]

[Guest Bengals1181]

[quote name='Tigris' post='408359' date='Dec 17 2006, 12:19 PM']who gives a shit? the dude hit it big with a great idea.

if he wants to live life that way, let him. he's the one who had the idea and made it happen. don't hate on the guy because he doesn't care about interviews and appears to be somewhat lazy. i'd do the same thing... live the life, have fun.

i personally would have sold it for a billion, though... i assume a lot of attention comes with being the creator and owner, or CEO, whatever... im sure he's having one hell of a time[/quote]


the funny thing is that he created facebook for a class project while at Harvard.

[Guest Tigris]

[quote name='Bengals1181' post='409059' date='Dec 18 2006, 10:07 AM']the funny thing is that he created facebook for a class project while at Harvard.[/quote]
Harvard a law school?

You'd think with a program like that he'd be majoring in something that had to do with computers/technology. Kinda' weird for a project there, you'd think/

[whodey319]

[quote name='Tigris' post='409173' date='Dec 18 2006, 01:36 PM']Harvard a law school?

You'd think with a program like that he'd be majoring in something that had to do with computers/technology. Kinda' weird for a project there, you'd think/[/quote]
Harvard isnt just a law school. Its just like a normal university just really expensive and hard to get into to

[VonBlade]

[quote name='BlackJesus' post='408379' date='Dec 17 2006, 05:52 PM'][b]I believe that what we have is a perversion of the premise that one should recieve pay for the fruits of their labor.

What we have here in my mind is a model where he sets up the structure ... and then everyone else actually creates the product (their page) .... hence the users are his employees. However they recieve none of the profits from it. Creating a situation where millions of people spend hundreds of hours adding to his company (with their pages) and meanwhile he sleeps in bed all day counting the billions he is making.

How in the fuck can you justify that this kid is more productive that 20 million laborers .... or that he produces more than many small nations ..... he doesn't .... he exists in an economic model that is totally out of whack. [/b][/quote]


I have enough ethics and human decency to appreciate the point you are making. Judging from the above replies I'm pretty much alone in that. To appreciate the fact that you have got clean water, food, shelter etc is one thing, be grateful for that fact. But also shut the fuck up pointing and laughing at those who don't and most certainly do not have a choice in the matter. Anytime the rest of you wish to join the human race, feel free.

VB

[Jamie_B]

[quote name='VonBlade' post='409240' date='Dec 18 2006, 03:25 PM']I have enough ethics and human decency to appreciate the point you are making. Judging from the above replies I'm pretty much alone in that. To appreciate the fact that you have got clean water, food, shelter etc is one thing, be grateful for that fact. But also shut the fuck up pointing and laughing at those who don't and most certainly do not have a choice in the matter. Anytime the rest of you wish to join the human race, feel free.

VB[/quote]



[size=4]WORD!!!!!!!![/size]

[whodey319]

[quote name='VonBlade' post='409240' date='Dec 18 2006, 03:25 PM']I have enough ethics and human decency to appreciate the point you are making. Judging from the above replies I'm pretty much alone in that. To appreciate the fact that you have got clean water, food, shelter etc is one thing, be grateful for that fact. But also shut the fuck up pointing and laughing at those who don't and most certainly do not have a choice in the matter. Anytime the rest of you wish to join the human race, feel free.

VB[/quote]
they arent making fun of the less fortunate, they are trying to get under BJ's skin because he pretty much takes any story or posts people make and ruin them for everyone else.