Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg celebrated his 40th birthday on Tuesday with a unique twist, offering a peek into an alternate reality where he and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates were college roommates.
The tech mogul took to Instagram to share snapshots from the festivities, meticulously organized by his wife Priscilla Chan. Among the highlights were mini-replicas of Zuckerberg’s former living spaces, including the iconic Harvard dorm room where the idea for Facebook was born.
In one particularly eye-catching photo, Zuckerberg, now 40, was joined by the 68-year-old Gates, seated together on a miniature red sofa. The scene offered a playful nod to what could have been, had their paths crossed during their university years.
“Grateful for my first 40 years! Priscilla threw me a little party and recreated a bunch of places I lived in the early days,” Zuckerberg captioned the post, reflecting on the journey from dorm room entrepreneur to tech titan.
Chan’s attention to detail extended beyond Zuckerberg’s accommodations, with recreations of his childhood bedroom, his first apartment, and even a nostalgic nod to a college pizzeria that held special significance for the birthday honoree.
While Zuckerberg famously dropped out of Harvard in 2004 to focus on growing Facebook, Gates similarly left the prestigious university in 1975 to pursue his vision for Microsoft.
Adding a touch of whimsy to the celebration, the birthday boy embraced a rapper-inspired aesthetic, donning a chain necklace and a black t-shirt emblazoned with the Latin phrase “Carthago delenda est” in old English lettering. The phrase, attributed to Cato the Elder, translates to “Carthage must be destroyed.”
Zuckerberg’s imaginative birthday bash offered a playful glimpse into what might have been, blending nostalgia with a hint of fantasy as he marked this milestone in his journey through the tech world.
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