A Facebook Billionaire? Not Me, Says Bono

Bono has denied claims he will become a billionaire - and the world's richest rock star - on the back of the Facebook flotation.

There had been reports that the canny investment made U2 frontman's wealth outstrip that of Sir Paul McCartney, said to be valued at £665m.

But Bono has downplayed his personal gain from Facebook's Initial Public Offering (IPO).

"Contrary to reports, this boy is not a billionaire or going to be richer than any Beatle," he told MSNBC.

"And not just in the sense of money, by the way, the Beatles are untouchable - those billionaire reports are a joke."

The rock star's investment group Elevation Partners was wise enough to put money into the social networking site, taking 2.3% of the company in late 2009.

The flotation means Elevation is now worth way in excess of £1bn, but Bono is joined by nine other directors who stand to profit.

Friday's IPO of Facebook shares on the Nasdaq stock market was one of the biggest ever floats, and netted co-creator Mark Zuckerberg more than $1bn.

The flotation made the site worth about $105bn - more than Amazon.com, McDonalds, Hewlett-Packard and Cisco.

By the end of the day, more than 500 million shares had changed hands.

But despite the hype, shares in the company closed up just cents up on their first day of trading after being priced at $38 each.

Nick Einhorn, an analyst with IPO advisory firm Renaissance Capital, said: "It wasn't quite as exciting as it could have been but I don't think we should view it as a failure."

Mr Zuckerberg, who sold about 30 million shares, will retain a controlling stake in the company, making him worth an estimated $19.1bn - the 23rd richest person in the world at the age of 28.

He said: "Right now this all seems like a big deal. Going public is an important milestone in our history.

"But here's the thing - our mission isn't to be a public company. Our mission is to make the world more open and connected."

But the company's laid-back management style that sees Mr Zuckerberg wear his trademark hoodie and sandals may also have to change now the company is accountable to shareholders.