Mark Zuckerberg joins elite $200 billion club, becomes world's fourth richest person
New York: Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, has officially joined the exclusive $200 billion club, positioning him as the fourth richest person globally.
Recent data from Bloomberg's Billionaire Index shows that Zuckerberg's net worth has skyrocketed to $201 billion, making him the fourth richest person in the world, just behind Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault.
Elon Musk tops the list with a total net worth of $272 billion, followed by Jeff Bezos at $211 billion, and Bernard Arnault with $207 billion.
Zuckerberg's wealth surged by a whopping $73.4 billion in 2024. Much of the 40-year-old's fortune comes from Meta's stock, which increased by nearly 64 percent this year. Meta operates popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, along with the instant messaging app WhatsApp.
During the recent Meta Connect 2024 event, Zuckerberg highlighted the company's ambitious AI initiatives, stating, “We're nearing 500 million monthly active users, and we haven't even launched in some major markets like as those in the European Union.”
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Karnataka makes teenage pregnancies audit mandatory
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka government on Tuesday issued an order mandating an audit of all adolescent pregnancy cases across the state, aiming to systematically track, review and address the underlying causes of pregnancies among girls aged 10 to 18 years.
The order makes adolescent pregnancy audit mandatory by the Taluk Health Officer (THO) for all pregnancies occurring among girls aged 10 to 18 years across the state.
The move is intended to strengthen early identification, counselling and preventive interventions by integrating efforts across health, education and social welfare departments, while leveraging existing programmes such as the National Health Mission (NHM) and Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK).
“Adolescent pregnancy remains a significant public health and social concern with implications for maternal health, neonatal outcomes, and socio-economic development,” the order said.
It noted that pregnancies among girls aged 10 to 18 years are associated with increased risks of maternal complications, adverse birth outcomes, school dropout and social vulnerability.
According to the order, all adolescent pregnancies identified in the state must be compulsorily reported by both government and private healthcare institutions on the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) platform.
The audit framework will examine multiple socio-medical factors, including age at marriage, educational status, awareness of reproductive health, access to contraception, and family vulnerabilities.
It will also assess linkages with schemes such as RKSK, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and school health programmes to identify service delivery gaps.
At the Taluk level, a dedicated audit committee will be constituted under the chairmanship of the Taluk Health Officer. Its members will be drawn from primary health centres, field health staff, Anganwadi services and schools.
The government further directed that counselling services, including those through Sneha Centres, access to contraceptives, and targeted outreach to vulnerable adolescent groups—such as school dropouts, migrants and socially disadvantaged households—must be strengthened.
“The audit shall examine age at marriage, educational status, awareness on reproductive health, access to contraception and counselling services, socio-economic and family vulnerabilities,” the order said.
The order mandates strict confidentiality in handling all cases, in compliance with child protection laws, while also ensuring adherence to legal reporting requirements.
