This Day in History: , Facebook Raises $16 Billion in Largest Tech IPO in U.S. History.<br />May 18, 2012.<br />The company raised $16 billion <br />at its initial public offering (IPO).<br />At the time, <br />Facebook's IPO was the largest <br />of any tech company in U.S. history. <br />It was the third largest of any company.<br />With 900 million users worldwide, <br />the social network was valued at $104 billion.<br />Initially founded as a social network <br />for Harvard students in 2004, <br />Facebook was created by Mark Zuckerberg <br />and three other classmates.<br />By 2008, the platform had become so popular <br />that it was used by presidential candidate <br />Barack Obama. It was considered essential in <br />helping him win the White House.<br />At the close of trading, Facebook shares <br />were worth just slightly more than the <br />$38 IPO price at $38.23
