What Happened to Sheryl Sandberg?

Sheryl Sandberg's career is marked by significant influence in the technology sector and a strong commitment to women's empowerment. After a distinguished early career at the World Bank, McKinsey & Company, and as Chief of Staff for the U.S. Treasury Department, Sandberg joined Google in 2001, where she built and scaled its online sales and operations. Her move to Facebook in 2008 as its first Chief Operating Officer was a turning point, where she was instrumental in transforming the nascent social network into a multi-billion-dollar advertising powerhouse. She became the first woman elected to Facebook's board of directors in 2012.

In 2013, Sandberg authored the bestselling book "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead," which sparked a global movement and led to the creation of LeanIn.org, an organization dedicated to empowering women in the workplace. Following the sudden death of her husband, Dave Goldberg, in 2015, she co-authored "Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy" in 2017, focusing on grief and resilience. Her philanthropic efforts expanded through the Sheryl Sandberg & Dave Goldberg Family Foundation, which encompasses Lean In, Option B, and the Dave Goldberg Scholarship Program.

Sandberg announced her departure as Meta's COO in June 2022, a role she officially left in the fall of that year, citing a desire to focus more on her foundation and philanthropic work. She remained on Meta's board of directors until May 2024, when she chose not to seek re-election, transitioning instead to an advisory role for the company. Her tenure at Meta was not without controversy, including scrutiny over the Cambridge Analytica scandal and allegations regarding her efforts to suppress a story about her then-boyfriend, Bobby Kotick. In January 2025, she faced sanctions for deleting emails related to the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal.

Since her departure from Meta's executive leadership, Sandberg has diversified her activities. In 2021, she co-founded Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners with her husband, Tom Bernthal (whom she married in August 2022), to invest in early-stage startups across various tech sectors. Her foundation has continued its work, with a notable $5 million donation to Marshall University in October 2024 for its 'Marshall For All' program. As of March 2026, the Lean In Foundation underwent restructuring, including staff reductions, and shifted its focus to counter "manosphere" and "tradwife" content, while also highlighting the gender gap in AI adoption. In March 2026, Sandberg joined the board of British AI startup Nscale. Most recently, in April 2026, she joined forces with Hillary Clinton to advocate for an end to child marriage, emphasizing its economic and human rights implications. She also published an article in April 2026 addressing the "tradwife" trend and working mom guilt. Her estimated net worth in 2026 ranges from $1.4 billion to $2.4 billion, primarily from Meta stock, executive compensation, and investments.