Latest news with #SherylSandberg
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Meta investors settlement with Zuckerberg takes heat off Delaware
By Tom Hals WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) -A last-minute settlement between Meta Platforms shareholders and the company's leadership last week ended an $8 billion trial and spared Mark Zuckerberg from testifying about alleged violations of Facebook users' data. It also took the heat off the state of Delaware, which has been plagued by criticism from technology and business leaders. The second day of the eight-day trial in Delaware's Court of Chancery was about to start on Thursday when the legal team for the shareholder plaintiffs announced they had reached a deal to resolve the case. The terms are still being hammered out, but the agreement ends a case that had the potential to fuel a trend of companies abandoning the state as their legal home. Since last year, Elon Musk and other business leaders have attacked the state's courts, once the key reason companies incorporated in Delaware, for rulings that they say made it easier for shareholders to sue directors. Musk encouraged companies to leave the state and in the past year Dropbox, Trump Media & Technology, Roblox and Simon Property Group were among the large public companies that reincorporated outside Delaware, a trend dubbed "Dexit." Critics claim the state's courts are biased against company founders -- an uncomfortable backdrop for the Meta case, whose 11 defendants included the billionaires Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Marc Andreessen, Palantir Technologies co-founder Peter Thiel and Reed Hastings, who co-founded Netflix. A ruling that spared the defendants might have given the impression the court caved to pressure to let them off the hook, while one that favored the plaintiffs could have led to further calls for companies to leave Delaware. "It was going to be really awkward for the court," said Ann Lipton, a professor at Colorado Law School. Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and lawyers for Meta investors and the defendants did not respond to requests for comment. Meta shareholders alleged current and former officers and directors of Facebook were liable for failing to protect users' data. The shareholder plaintiffs wanted the court to order the defendants to use their personal fortune to reimburse the company for the $8 billion in legal costs that Facebook had shelled out for violating user privacy, including a $5 billion fine paid to the Federal Trade Commission in 2019. The case put a spotlight on Delaware courts and the judge handling the case, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, who gained prominence last year for rescinding Musk's $56 billion pay package from Tesla. That ruling is on appeal. Adding to the high stakes, Andreessen's venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, said earlier this month it was moving its incorporation to Nevada from Delaware and encouraged other companies to follow. "In particular, Delaware courts can at times appear biased against technology startup founders and their boards," said a blog post on the firm's website, citing McCormick's Musk pay ruling. The firm did not respond to a request for comment. Earlier this year, representatives from Meta met with Delaware's governor and soon after the state changed its widely used corporate law to make it harder for shareholders to sue corporate boards over deals with controlling shareholders like Zuckerberg. Delaware's political leaders said the changes were meant to keep Meta and other companies from fleeing the state. Delaware gets more than a quarter of its budget revenue from fees associated with chartering businesses. Despite the new law, some companies, like Affirm Holdings, still opted to leave, saying it was unclear how it would be interpreted by Delaware courts. Lawrence Cunningham, director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance in Delaware, said the Meta shareholder settlement highlighted the strengths of the Delaware court in handling a complicated case and guiding it to a resolution, which might be hard to replicate elsewhere. "It was a very desired judicial outcome," he said of the case.
CNA
21-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
Meta investors settlement with Zuckerberg takes heat off Delaware
WILMINGTON, Delaware :A last-minute settlement between Meta Platforms shareholders and the company's leadership last week ended an $8 billion trial and spared Mark Zuckerberg from testifying about alleged violations of Facebook users' data. It also took the heat off the state of Delaware, which has been plagued by criticism from technology and business leaders. The second day of the eight-day trial in Delaware's Court of Chancery was about to start on Thursday when the legal team for the shareholder plaintiffs announced they had reached a deal to resolve the case. The terms are still being hammered out, but the agreement ends a case that had the potential to fuel a trend of companies abandoning the state as their legal home. Since last year, Elon Musk and other business leaders have attacked the state's courts, once the key reason companies incorporated in Delaware, for rulings that they say made it easier for shareholders to sue directors. Musk encouraged companies to leave the state and in the past year Dropbox, Trump Media & Technology, Roblox and Simon Property Group were among the large public companies that reincorporated outside Delaware, a trend dubbed "Dexit." Critics claim the state's courts are biased against company founders - an uncomfortable backdrop for the Meta case, whose 11 defendants included the billionaires Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Marc Andreessen, Palantir Technologies co-founder Peter Thiel and Reed Hastings, who co-founded Netflix. A ruling that spared the defendants might have given the impression the court caved to pressure to let them off the hook, while one that favored the plaintiffs could have led to further calls for companies to leave Delaware. "It was going to be really awkward for the court," said Ann Lipton, a professor at Colorado Law School. Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and lawyers for Meta investors and the defendants did not respond to requests for comment. Meta shareholders alleged current and former officers and directors of Facebook were liable for failing to protect users' data. The shareholder plaintiffs wanted the court to order the defendants to use their personal fortune to reimburse the company for the $8 billion in legal costs that Facebook had shelled out for violating user privacy, including a $5 billion fine paid to the Federal Trade Commission in 2019. The case put a spotlight on Delaware courts and the judge handling the case, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, who gained prominence last year for rescinding Musk's $56 billion pay package from Tesla. That ruling is on appeal. Adding to the high stakes, Andreessen's venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, said earlier this month it was moving its incorporation to Nevada from Delaware and encouraged other companies to follow. "In particular, Delaware courts can at times appear biased against technology startup founders and their boards," said a blog post on the firm's website, citing McCormick's Musk pay ruling. The firm did not respond to a request for comment. Earlier this year, representatives from Meta met with Delaware's governor and soon after the state changed its widely used corporate law to make it harder for shareholders to sue corporate boards over deals with controlling shareholders like Zuckerberg. Delaware's political leaders said the changes were meant to keep Meta and other companies from fleeing the state. Delaware gets more than a quarter of its budget revenue from fees associated with chartering businesses. Despite the new law, some companies, like Affirm Holdings, still opted to leave, saying it was unclear how it would be interpreted by Delaware courts. Lawrence Cunningham, director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance in Delaware, said the Meta shareholder settlement highlighted the strengths of the Delaware court in handling a complicated case and guiding it to a resolution, which might be hard to replicate elsewhere. "It was a very desired judicial outcome," he said of the case.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Meta investors settlement with Zuckerberg takes heat off Delaware
By Tom Hals WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) -A last-minute settlement between Meta Platforms shareholders and the company's leadership last week ended an $8 billion trial and spared Mark Zuckerberg from testifying about alleged violations of Facebook users' data. It also took the heat off the state of Delaware, which has been plagued by criticism from technology and business leaders. The second day of the eight-day trial in Delaware's Court of Chancery was about to start on Thursday when the legal team for the shareholder plaintiffs announced they had reached a deal to resolve the case. The terms are still being hammered out, but the agreement ends a case that had the potential to fuel a trend of companies abandoning the state as their legal home. Since last year, Elon Musk and other business leaders have attacked the state's courts, once the key reason companies incorporated in Delaware, for rulings that they say made it easier for shareholders to sue directors. Musk encouraged companies to leave the state and in the past year Dropbox, Trump Media & Technology, Roblox and Simon Property Group were among the large public companies that reincorporated outside Delaware, a trend dubbed "Dexit." Critics claim the state's courts are biased against company founders -- an uncomfortable backdrop for the Meta case, whose 11 defendants included the billionaires Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Marc Andreessen, Palantir Technologies co-founder Peter Thiel and Reed Hastings, who co-founded Netflix. A ruling that spared the defendants might have given the impression the court caved to pressure to let them off the hook, while one that favored the plaintiffs could have led to further calls for companies to leave Delaware. "It was going to be really awkward for the court," said Ann Lipton, a professor at Colorado Law School. Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and lawyers for Meta investors and the defendants did not respond to requests for comment. Meta shareholders alleged current and former officers and directors of Facebook were liable for failing to protect users' data. The shareholder plaintiffs wanted the court to order the defendants to use their personal fortune to reimburse the company for the $8 billion in legal costs that Facebook had shelled out for violating user privacy, including a $5 billion fine paid to the Federal Trade Commission in 2019. The case put a spotlight on Delaware courts and the judge handling the case, Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick, who gained prominence last year for rescinding Musk's $56 billion pay package from Tesla. That ruling is on appeal. Adding to the high stakes, Andreessen's venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, said earlier this month it was moving its incorporation to Nevada from Delaware and encouraged other companies to follow. "In particular, Delaware courts can at times appear biased against technology startup founders and their boards," said a blog post on the firm's website, citing McCormick's Musk pay ruling. The firm did not respond to a request for comment. Earlier this year, representatives from Meta met with Delaware's governor and soon after the state changed its widely used corporate law to make it harder for shareholders to sue corporate boards over deals with controlling shareholders like Zuckerberg. Delaware's political leaders said the changes were meant to keep Meta and other companies from fleeing the state. Delaware gets more than a quarter of its budget revenue from fees associated with chartering businesses. Despite the new law, some companies, like Affirm Holdings, still opted to leave, saying it was unclear how it would be interpreted by Delaware courts. Lawrence Cunningham, director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance in Delaware, said the Meta shareholder settlement highlighted the strengths of the Delaware court in handling a complicated case and guiding it to a resolution, which might be hard to replicate elsewhere. "It was a very desired judicial outcome," he said of the case.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Zuckerberg and Meta investors settle $8bn Facebook privacy lawsuit
Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg and a group of shareholders have reached a settlement in a lawsuit seeking $8bn in damages over alleged privacy violations on Facebook. According to a Reuters report, the settlement was announced by a lawyer for the shareholders in the Delaware Court of Chancery, where the trial was underway. Following the announcement, Judge Kathaleen McCormick adjourned the trial. However, the details of the agreement were not disclosed. Shareholders had filed the lawsuit against Zuckerberg, venture capitalist and Meta director Marc Andreessen, and other former executives, including former chief operating officer (COO) Sheryl Sandberg. In the lawsuit, they sought to hold these individuals accountable for failing to prevent privacy violations affecting Facebook users. They argued that these oversights eventually resulted in the company facing fines and legal expenses. Notably, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) imposed a $5bn fine on Facebook in 2019 for not adhering to a 2012 agreement intended to safeguard user data. The plaintiffs aimed to have the defendants use personal funds to reimburse Meta. However, the defendants denied the allegations, dismissing these as 'extreme claims'. Since 2021, Facebook has operated under the name Meta and was not a defendant in this case. The company has stated on its website that it has invested billions [of dollars] in enhancing user privacy since 2019. The trial was initially set to continue into the following week, with anticipated testimonies from former board members, including Peter Thiel and Reed Hastings. By settling, the defendants, including Zuckerberg, avoid having to testify under oath. The case arose after it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica, a now-defunct political consulting company, had accessed data from millions of Facebook users. This scandal ultimately resulted in the FTC imposing the record fine on Facebook. "Zuckerberg and Meta investors settle $8bn Facebook privacy lawsuit" was originally created and published by Verdict, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary warns Gen Z this job is a slow ‘drift into hell' that'll make you unemployable for life
multimillionaire Kevin O'Leary says that two-thirds of his Harvard MBA students are 'lost souls' who want to go into consulting over entrepreneurship. The Executive Fellow teaching at the Ivy League exclusively tells Fortune that each year, he tries to convince Gen Zers to ditch the path of cushy office jobs and 'mediocrity'–or risk being unemployable for life. Many business school students coming out of Stanford University, New York University, and the University of Pennsylvania are already stepping into their swanky Wall Street jobs. But multimillionaire investor Kevin O'Leary is urging his Harvard students to skip the typical consulting track—and build something of their own instead. 'Look, if you want to drift into hell on Earth, stay 24 months in a consulting firm and you are tainted meat for the rest of your life,' O'Leary tells Fortune. 'No one's going to hire you to make a decision because you never have made one.' 'Why would anybody burn all those hours while someone else makes money, and you do nothing of consequence? I respect all the consulting firms that are out there, but I'm going to do my best to keep people from going into that.' O'Leary is an Executive Fellow at the prestigious Ivy League college, teaching an MBA Elective Curriculum course The Founder Mindset. The school has pumped out some of the most successful entrepreneurs, including Michael Bloomberg, Sheryl Sandberg, Jamie Dimon, and Bill Ackman—but the institution's entrepreneurial spirit hasn't rubbed off on all of its students. O'Leary says that when he asks his Harvard cohort who wants to go into consulting, about two-thirds raise their hands. But the $4.2 billion SoftKey Software Products founder has made it his mission to recruit them into entrepreneurial life—even if his lessons require some harsh truths. 'What I try and do is disrupt a few of them in every class that I go into at the beginning of the program saying, 'If I can get four of you to abandon your drift into mediocrity, then I've done a great job here.' Business consultants will 'never be free' O'Leary understands the draw to the consulting world; he notes these jobs can offer $250,000 to $350,000 salaries right off the bat, despite consultants being worked 'like an animal' for the first three years. But sky-high wages and cushy offices might not be worth the price they have to pay: never producing anything of their own, always working for the big man and putting off potential employers, like O'Leary. 'If you're there for more than two than 24 months, you get the virus. You're tainted—your resume says you were someone of no consequence,' the 71-year-old tells Fortune. 'So I always take those resumes of consultants that want to get into the real world, and throw them in the garbage,' O'Leary continues. 'They haven't done anything, they just wrote reports. Didn't matter.' Being worked to the bone for six-figures is still enticing for some professionals, as many log in 100-hour workweeks for much less. But beyond having an underwhelming resume, O'Leary says consultants will never have freedom working under a boss. 'You can go to the soccer games, go to picnics. You can do whatever, and it's a great life. You can provide for a family,' he adds. 'But you'll never be free. You'll never be financially free.' Entrepreneurship may mean no vacations, sharing an apartment with five roommates, and grinding for years—but once you make it, you can call your own shots. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
