Sheryl Sandberg, the former Facebook chief operating officer, is worth about $2.4 billion from Meta stock and pay. She channels that fortune into women's advancement, grief resilience, and college scholarships through her family foundation. Forbes classifies the fortune as self-made and lists Facebook/Meta as its source. In 2014 she and her late husband Dave Goldberg pledged to give most of their wealth to charity.
Table of Contents
- How She Built the Fortune
- When Did She Leave Meta?
- What Causes Does Her Foundation Support?
- How Does She Move Money to Charity?
How She Built the Fortune
Sandberg joined Facebook as chief operating officer in 2008 and helped scale its advertising business. According to BBN Times, citing Forbes, she sold more than $1.8 billion in Meta shares during her tenure while keeping a smaller stake BBN Times breakdown of her $2.4 billion fortune.
That steady selling turned salary and stock awards into liquid wealth. The remaining Meta holding still ties her net worth to the company's share price.
When Did She Leave Meta?
She served as chief operating officer from 2008 until fall 2022. NPR reported her exit after 14 years as a surprise leadership shift NPR report on her departure after 14 years.
She stayed on Meta's board after stepping down as COO. She declined reelection and left the board in May 2024.
What Causes Does Her Foundation Support?
She founded the Lean In Foundation in 2013 around her book Lean In. It later became the SGB Family Foundation after Goldberg's 2015 death and her 2022 remarriage to Tom Bernthal.
According to InfluenceWatch, the foundation funds LeanIn.Org for women's advancement and OptionB.Org for resilience after loss. It also supports Dave Goldberg scholarships and college programs.
How Does She Move Money to Charity?
The Giving Pledge lists Sandberg and Goldberg as 2014 pledgers promising most of their wealth to charity Giving Pledge listing for Dave Goldberg and Sheryl Sandberg. A donor-advised fund is a charitable account that distributes money to nonprofits over time. Entrepreneur reported that in 2016 she gave about $100 million in 880,000 Facebook shares to her family fund for LeanIn.Org and OptionB.org Entrepreneur account of her $100 million donation.
The gift went to her Sheryl Sandberg and Dave Goldberg Family Fund. Forbes analyses found most of her roughly $320 million in giving since 2015 went to donor-advised funds. About $230 million of that was Facebook shares, and the final recipients were not publicly disclosed.