The founder of the social network is now worth $9.4bn having seen $8.1bn vanish from his personal worth over the last 12 months.
Forbes magazine, which compiled the figures, said that he had endured a ‘rough road’ since Facebook went public in May.
Facebook CEO: Mark Zuckerberg's net worth fell
by nearly half to $9.4 billion, and he slid to the number 36 slot from
number 14 a year ago on the Forbes 400 list
Decline: Facebook has shed $50 billion in market
value in just three months, and it is feared the company's stock is
nowhere near bottom
The cover of the Forbes 400 issue on
philanthropy features 12 of the more than 150 influential entrepreneurs
the magazine brought together for a private discussion on ways to help
solve some of the world's most intractable problems
FORBES' 400 TOP TEN
According to the Forbes list of 400 Richest Americans for 2012, Zuckerberg has lost more money than anybody else, sending him down from 14th to 36th place.
In a sign of how volatile Facebook has become, last year he was the biggest gainer on the list having added $10.6bn to his fortune.
In its analysis, Forbes says that Facebook has ‘performed poorly’ and that it reported a net loss of $157m in July, which drove the stock price down even more.
However it also said that Zuckerberg’s personal fortune was still ‘impressive’ and that he remained committed to the future of the company.
Something to smile about: Gates topped Forbes'
annual list of the U.S. Uber-elite for the 19th year in a row with $66
billion, up $7 billion from a year earlier
Another top earner: Investor Warren Buffett, the
head of Berkshire Hathaway, again took second place with $46 billion
SURPRISE ENTRANT
Among
the other surprises in the Forbes list are the founders of a cheap
Chinese food chain where meals cost just $5.49 - but are worth $2bn.
Andrew and Peggy Cherng are joint 239th richest in America thanks to the success of their Panda Express restaurants, which sells basic Asian meals at a low cost.
Mr Cherng came to the U.S. from China with hardly a cent to his name in 1966 and scraped together $60,000 from friends and family to open his first restaurant seven years later.
He hired his father, who trained as a master chef in Japan, to prepare the food at the place they called Panda Inn.
In 1983 they got a break when a new shopping mall asked to use his menu for its restaurant - and they have never looked back.
Panda Express now has 1,500 restaurants across the U.S. and in Mexico.
Mrs Cherng, who gave up her career as a computer programmer, serves as chief executive with her husband.
The couple put the success of the business down to their focus on the well-being of their employees and Mr Cherng encourages them to meditate and engage in fulfilling hobbies.
He hosts Saturday morning wellness seminars which attract dozens of workers each time.
Many of the staff, like Mr Cherng, have emigrated from Asia and hope to live the American dream like he has.
Andrew and Peggy Cherng are joint 239th richest in America thanks to the success of their Panda Express restaurants, which sells basic Asian meals at a low cost.
Mr Cherng came to the U.S. from China with hardly a cent to his name in 1966 and scraped together $60,000 from friends and family to open his first restaurant seven years later.
He hired his father, who trained as a master chef in Japan, to prepare the food at the place they called Panda Inn.
In 1983 they got a break when a new shopping mall asked to use his menu for its restaurant - and they have never looked back.
Panda Express now has 1,500 restaurants across the U.S. and in Mexico.
Mrs Cherng, who gave up her career as a computer programmer, serves as chief executive with her husband.
The couple put the success of the business down to their focus on the well-being of their employees and Mr Cherng encourages them to meditate and engage in fulfilling hobbies.
He hosts Saturday morning wellness seminars which attract dozens of workers each time.
Many of the staff, like Mr Cherng, have emigrated from Asia and hope to live the American dream like he has.
Zuckerberg recently gave his first speech since Facebook went public and admitted it had wasted two years by not focusing on mobile devices.
His speech sparked a mini rally in the company’s stock price although he has already cashed out some of his wealth by offloading $1.1bn of his own shares.
Facebook’s floatation has been dubbed the worst such event in modern history after a perfect storm of technical glitches and overpricing the stock rendered it a failure.
Zuckerberg, 28, has been personally sued for $2.9bn for allegedly deceiving smaller shareholders by not telling them about his private concerns.
Meanwhile institutional investors were supposedly informed, giving them a chance to get out fast.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates remains at the top of the Richest Americans list with a fortune of $66bn, followed by investor Warren Buffett on $46bn.
Oracle founder Larry Ellison is third and is worth $41 billion, up $8 billion which is the biggest rise this year.
Forbes put it down to getting rid of unprofitable parts of the business, although he did spend $500m buying the entire Hawaiian island of Lanai.
The combined wealth of America’s richest is $1.7 trillion, up from $1.5 trillion in 2011, in due part to the rising stock market, a rebound in real estate values - especially in cities like Los Angeles and New York, and rising values for art works.
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