Article written by Contentworks Agency and published at Finance Magnates.
Economic events, news updates and earnings seasons all impact the financial markets. But what about individuals? In the same way that social media and influencer marketing impacts buyer decisions, so too can it move markets. Here are 10 people who could move the markets in 2023. Here’s our countdown from 10 to 1!
#10 – Mark Zuckerberg
The CEO of Meta Platforms is now a household name. Zuckerburg is the kingpin of social media, not only for Facebook’s almost 3 billion active users but having taken over WhatsApp and Instagram.
Wassup with Zuckerburg?
Zuckerberg gave new direction to his company, with growth in the Metaverse. Renaming Facebook to Meta Platforms and investing heavily into virtual reality (VR) headsets were giant leaps into the immersive virtual. Investors were however, not too impressed with changes at the company and the stock lost around 70% in 2022. This brought him down to $140 billion of net worth after losing $100 billion hours after the announcement.
Zuckerberg in 2023
Zuck envisions a world with Meta’s VR headsets “in every bedroom and boardroom.” He believes a billion people in the Metaverse would spend hundreds of dollars each on digital goods, estate, and content. Despite the launch of Quest Pro, a mixed reality headset, Quest 2 rules consumers’ hearts and the company has sold an estimated 14.8 million of them. However, the technologies are still niche, and their growth will depend on how well Zuckerberg is able to convince business customers like designers, architects, and 3D modelling professionals to invest in Quest Pro. Zuck’s excitement around the Metaverse’s prospects could continue to drive sentiment around NFTs and cryptos. Commentary around the economy and Meta Platforms’ layoffs (13% of its workforce) may also impact markets in 2023.