Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s style transformation as billionaire turns 40

Mark Zuckerberg is leaving geek chic behind and transforming into an up-and-coming style icon after turning 40 in May this year.

The tech billionaire, known for dressing like the common man with his standard t-shirts and close-cropped haircut, has shifted his style this year to a more on-trend look, complete with a grown-out curly hairstyle and a toned, athletic figure.

According to Yahoo, Mark was even spotted donning a watch worth up to $95,000 during a podcast appearance this month, proving he is willing to splash out on the finer things to improve his look. 

The Facebook founder has turned his eye to clothing design this year, as he revealed on the Acquired podcast. 

“I started working with people to design some of my own clothes,” he said. “I’ve kind of started working on this series of shirts with some of my favorite classical sayings on them.”

Mark has seemingly changed his tune since a 2014 Q&A in which he hit back at the people calling for him to step up his style game.

© Jeff Bottari

“I’m not a cool person, and I’ve never really tried to be cool,” he said. “I really want to clear my life so that I have to make as few decisions as possible…I feel like I’m not doing my job if I spend any of my energy on things that are silly or frivolous.”

It seems that Mark’s bold transformation is not only impressing the internet but also his wife of 12 years, Priscilla Chan. 

A recent photo of Mark sporting a clean-cut beard and mustache went viral, as people pointed out how much the new look suited him. 

© Tom Williams

“He went from Mr. Steal your data to Mr. Steal your girl,” one internet user commented. 

It quickly emerged that the picture was photoshopped, but not before reaching Mark and his wife; the father of three commented on a post from The Shade Room, “Okay, who did this?” while Priscilla jokingly wrote, “Anyone seen my husband??? And who is this guy?” 

As Mark entered this new era of bold looks and sophisticated style, he made sure to pay tribute to Priscilla in the most outlandish way possible: by having a sculpture created of her. 

© Instagram

“Bringing back the Roman tradition of making sculptures of your wife,” he captioned an Instagram post that featured the new garden staple. 

The statue saw Priscilla’s likeness shaped into a goddess-like figure with a blue-green covering and silver toga-like clothing made of metal. 

© Instagram

The couple met at Harvard in 2003, before Facebook had taken off. They share three children: Maxima, August, and Aurelia. 

Here’s hoping that Mark’s incredible style transformation won’t be fleeting- and maybe he’ll even take a leaf out of the internet’s book and sport a beard in the near future!