Zuckerberg’s Jet Blows Out Over 250 Metric Tons of Carbon in Two Months
In the world of online gaming, the Metaverse is an expansive virtual reality. And in the world of Meta, the expansive high-tech company (formerly known as Facebook) headed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, saving the earth from climate change is a virtual concept that sounds nice — and may even inspire — but is apparently pushed aside by real-world needs.
According to new data released by computer programmer Jack Sweeney, who gained worldwide attention when he started tracking the private jet travels of Tesla and SpaceX head Elon Musk, Zuckerberg — who has gained notoriety over the years for his public proclamations about the need to save the environment and modify consumer habits to fight climate change — owns a private jet that burned through more than $158,000 of jet fuel in less than two months.
Between Aug. 29 and Oct. 15 of this year, Zuckerberg’s jet, a Gulfstream G650, used at least $158,448 worth of jet fuel crisscrossing the continental United States about 28 times in trips to Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York, Texas and several other states before returning to San Jose, Calif., where it evidently has its home base.
During that span, Zuckerberg’s private jet emitted more than 253 metric tons of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas identified by experts as one of the key supposed contributors to global warming and climate change.
Comparatively, an average American has a total carbon footprint of 16 tons a year while the average person worldwide burns about 4 tons a year, according to The Nature Conservancy.
Zuckerberg’s Gulfstream recorded several long-distance treks over the last two months, but also a number of short trips, including 18 miles on Oct. 15, between two Arizona airstrips, and a 28-mile jaunt Aug. 28 from Carlsbad, California, to San Diego.
Facebook previously said Zuckerberg’s private jet use was part of his “security program,” due to Facebook’s “high visibility,” as the company further asserted, and “specific threats” to his safety.
A report published last month by Business Insider reported Meta spent a record $26.8 million on Zuckerberg’s security and private jet travel in 2021. The publication reported in 2019 that Zuckerberg had 24/7 bodyguard protection, along with access to an office with bullet-resistant glass and a panic button.
“Maintaining Mark’s safety requires comprehensive and sophisticated resources,” a Meta spokesperson told the Insider. “Given the important role Mark plays at Meta and the threats to his safety arising from his role, Mark is required to use a private aircraft when traveling for all business and personal travel.”
Zuckerberg “is synonymous with Meta and, as a result, negative sentiment regarding our company is directly associated with, and often transferred to, Mr. Zuckerberg,” the company said in a statement.
Nevertheless, Zuckerberg has been known to frequently give money to climate change causes, aside from lecturing the general public about the urgency of solving global warming. Facebook, which Zuckerberg founded, has also launched an initiative to combat supposed misinformation about the climate on its platform.
Meta was one of only three companies that spent over $1 million on private jets for its executives last year — Tyson Foods and Lockheed Martin.
Google in 2021 allocated about $4.3 million to security for CEO Sundar Pichai and Amazon spent an estimated $1.6 million on founder Jeff Bezos, as well as just under $600,000 on its new CEO Andy Jassy.
