Quick Answer
Yes, WhatsApp is owned by Mark Zuckerberg. In February 2014, Facebook acquired WhatsApp for $19 billion. Since Mark Zuckerberg is the co-founder and CEO of Facebook, this means that Facebook and all of its subsidiaries, including WhatsApp, are owned by Zuckerberg.
The History of WhatsApp
WhatsApp was founded in 2009 by Brian Acton and Jan Koum, former employees of Yahoo. They wanted to create a messaging app that was free from advertising and focused on privacy.
The app launched in November 2009 and quickly gained popularity around the world for its simple interface, cross-platform functionality, and low cost. WhatsApp charged a nominal annual subscription fee of $1 to verify users’ accounts.
By early 2014, WhatsApp had over 450 million active users worldwide. That’s when Facebook took notice and expressed interest in acquiring the company.
Facebook Acquires WhatsApp
On February 19, 2014, Facebook announced that it was acquiring WhatsApp for $19 billion – $4 billion in cash and $15 billion in Facebook shares.
At the time, this was the largest acquisition of a venture-backed company in history. It was also Facebook’s most expensive acquisition to date.
The staggering price tag raised some eyebrows, considering WhatsApp had less than 500 employees and was minimally monetized.
But Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was laser-focused on WhatsApp’s tremendous growth. He believed WhatsApp could become a platform for major Internet communication in the future.
| Year | WhatsApp Active Users |
| 2013 | 300 million |
| 2014 (at time of acquisition) | 450 million |
Owning WhatsApp meant owning the future of mobile messaging. Plus, the acquisition helped Facebook stay competitive against other tech giants making moves in the messaging space like Google, Apple, and Amazon.
This strategic move cemented Facebook’s dominance in social media at a time when the company feared losing ground to younger users flocking to apps like Snapchat.
Mark Zuckerberg Now Owns WhatsApp
So who exactly owns WhatsApp now? As CEO and co-founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg maintains majority shareholder voting rights and control of the company.
When Facebook bought WhatsApp in 2014, it became a subsidiary of Facebook. Therefore, while WhatsApp operates somewhat independently, its ultimate owner is Facebook – and by extension, Mark Zuckerberg.
Today, Zuckerberg holds about 12.9% of Facebook shares and controls approximately 58% of the total voting power. So while Facebook is a publicly traded company, Zuckerberg’s voting power ensures he has full control.
The Evolution of WhatsApp Under Facebook
Initially, Facebook took a hands-off approach to managing WhatsApp after the acquisition. The founders continued to run the app as an autonomous company within the Facebook organization.
But over time, Facebook has exerted more control and influence over its subsidiary. Let’s look at some of WhatsApp’s major changes since 2014:
Leadership Changes
In 2018, WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum resigned over disagreements about data privacy and Facebook’s attempts to weaken encryption. Koum was later replaced by Chris Daniels, a long-time Facebook executive.
In 2020, Facebook appointed Will Cathcart as the new head of WhatsApp. Cathcart was also a Facebook veteran, having led the Facebook app for years.
These appointments of senior Facebook staff signaled a major shift in WhatsApp’s management. Facebook was now fully in control.
Monetization Efforts
After the acquisition, Facebook started exploring ways to monetize WhatsApp and make it profitable.
In 2016, WhatsApp launched its first revenue-generating feature, allowing businesses to communicate with users via the app. The next year, it introduced WhatsApp Business as a separate app specifically for enterprise needs.
Facebook also wanted to monetize WhatsApp by showing ads and facilitating ecommerce. But this led to clashes with the founders who were fiercely opposed to advertising on WhatsApp.
Integration With Facebook Products
Increasing integration with Facebook has been a priority for WhatsApp under Zuckerberg’s ownership.
WhatsApp user data is now shared with Facebook to improve ad targeting across the Facebook company products. Facebook also wants to unify messaging across its apps.
In 2019, Facebook announced its plan to enable cross-messaging among WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram. While not fully executed yet, the plan illustrates Facebook’s desire for tighter integration.
New Features & Policies
Facebook has introduced a number of new WhatsApp features and policies since the acquisition:
– Raised minimum age to 16 in Europe.
– Launched Status Stories similar to Snapchat and Instagram Stories.
– Enabled video calling.
– Introduced group video calls up to 8 people.
– Rolled out WhatsApp Pay peer-to-peer payments service in India.
– Updated Terms of Service and Privacy Policy (requiring users to share data with Facebook).
The founders would likely not have pursued many of these Facebook-led initiatives. But most changes have accelerated under Facebook’s ownership.
WhatsApp User Statistics
Despite a series of controversial policy and management changes under Facebook, WhatsApp has continued to grow.
As of 2022, WhatsApp has:
– Over 2 billion monthly active users worldwide
– Over 1.5 billion daily active users
– More than 100 billion messages sent per day
It has become the most popular messaging app in over 180 countries. WhatsApp’s tremendous scale solidifies Facebook’s dominance in global social media and communications.
| Year | WhatsApp Monthly Active Users |
| 2014 (at time of Facebook acquisition) | 450 million |
| 2016 | 1 billion |
| 2018 | 1.5 billion |
| 2020 | 2 billion |
Facebook seems to have made the winning bet on WhatsApp as the future of messaging. And Zuckerberg is now reaping the benefits of owning the platform used by 1 in 3 humans on Earth.
The Broader Facebook-Zuckerberg Empire
While Mark Zuckerberg holds ownership over Facebook and its family of products, WhatsApp is just one small piece of his vast empire.
In addition to the original Facebook app, here are some other major businesses owned by Facebook and Zuckerberg:
Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012 for $1 billion when the app only had 30 million users. Since then, Instagram has exploded to over 1 billion monthly users.
Messenger
Facebook launched its Messenger app in 2011. It now has over 1.3 billion monthly users and represents one of Facebook’s core messaging assets along with WhatsApp.
Oculus
Facebook purchased the virtual reality company Oculus VR in 2014 for $2 billion. This drives Facebook’s interests in building the metaverse and advanced VR/AR technologies.
Giphy
Giphy is the popular GIF search engine and sharing platform acquired by Facebook in 2020 for $400 million. This further expanded Facebook’s access to social media content and data.
Beyond the major app acquisitions, Facebook also owns technologies like the PyRobot AI framework, Mapillary crowdsourced mapping platform, and CTRL-Labs brain computing startup.
Zuckerberg is also personally invested in a range of companies through his Zuckerberg-Chan family office. This includes the future of food startups such as Meatable and Biomilq.
Thanks to the phenomenal success of Facebook, 32-year-old Zuckerberg has amassed a personal net worth estimated at over $100 billion. He continues to expand his business empire across the domains of social media, messaging, VR, AI, and more.
Conclusion
In summary, while WhatsApp operates as an independent messaging brand, it is fully owned by Facebook under the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg.
Since acquiring WhatsApp for $19 billion in 2014, Facebook has integrated the app more deeply into its ecosystem. WhatsApp is now a critical pillar of Zuckerberg’s consumer tech empire along with Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Oculus.
Despite initial clashes over data privacy and advertising, Zuckerberg seems to have prevailed in shaping WhatsApp’s future according to his vision. With over 2 billion users worldwide, WhatsApp provides tremendous strategic value and data access to Facebook.
As Facebook continues to expand its family of products, WhatsApp will likely become even more entrenched as one of Facebook’s crown jewels under the ownership of Mark Zuckerberg.