Zuckerberg has been at the helm of Facebook without interruption since the company was co-founded in 2004 and, unlike other major technology leaders, still holds an absolute majority of the voting power over Facebook shares, according to CNBC.
Apple transitioned founder Steve Jobs to Tim Cook in 2011, Microsoft transitioned to CEO in 2014 when the company’s first employee, Steve Ballmer, retired from the position and was replaced by Satya Nadella, and founder Bill Gates stepped down as chairman of the board. Finally, Alphabet, the owner of Google, moved from co-founder Larry Page to Sundar Pichai in 2019.
Due to the absolute majority of voting power over Facebook shares, all shareholders who do not agree with Zuckerberg’s guidelines have only one alternative, to sell their shares. This allows the Facebook CEO to take on long-term projects and execute them for as long as he or she sees fit.
Such was the case with Oculus – a virtual reality company that Facebook bought for two billion dollars (1.6 billion euros) in 2014. Seven years since the acquisition, Oculus has not yet made the leap that Facebook idealized when it made the purchase, but without shareholder pressure, Zuckerberg can continue to realize his favorite project as long as he sees fit.
This total control, however, can also protect Zuckerberg from the many criticisms it faces. Over the past four years, for example, the company has ignored much of the criticism from outsiders regarding misinformation and conspiracy theories on Facebook and its various services.
