<p>There is increasing speculation that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, 33, is thinking about running for president. ;He hasn&rsquo;t made any announcements, but the signs are certainly there. ;</p>
<p>Zuckerberg recently hired Joel Benenson to work as a consultant for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), the philanthropic project he founded with his wife in 2015. ;</p>
<p>Benenson&rsquo;s past jobs include:</p>
<p>&bull; Democratic pollster</p>
<p>&bull; Chief strategist for Hillary&rsquo;s presidential campaign</p>
<p>&bull; Adviser to former President Barack Obama ;</p>
<p>The couple is also working with David Plouffe, who led Obama&rsquo;s 2008 presidential campaign; Ken Mehlman, who led George W. Bush&rsquo;s 2004 re-election campaign; and Amy Dudley, a former communications adviser for Virginia Senator and Clinton running mate Tim Kaine. ;</p>
<p>Zuckerberg is currently on a yearlong tour of the country, where he will meet with tech leaders in all 50 states. Documenting the trip is Charles Ommanney, a photographer who worked for Bush and Obama. ;</p>
<p>Zuckerberg insists the tour has nothing to do with politics. &ldquo;Some of you have asked if this challenge means I&rsquo;m running for public office. I&rsquo;m not,&rdquo; he said in May.</p>
<p>If he&rsquo;s lying, Zuckerberg wouldn&rsquo;t be the first politician or public figure to intentionally mislead the public. ;</p>
<p>Either way, Zuckerberg could certainly afford to run for president. It would cost him a mere 1% of his net worth to match the $768 million Clinton spent on her 2016 campaign.</p>
<p>Zuckerberg has ;yet to reveal any sort of political platform, but he has spoken in favor of bail bond reform and universal basic income. &ldquo;We should explore ideas like universal basic income to give everyone a cushion to try new things,&rdquo; said Zuckerberg during a speech at Harvard in May. ;</p>
<p>The self-made billionaire has also been active in China, with hopes that his social network will be unblocked in the world&rsquo;s most populous nation.</p>
<p>This week, Zuckerberg and Apple CEO Tim Cook met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during an annual gathering of advisers to Beijing&rsquo;s Tsinghua University business school. &ldquo;Every year this trip is a great way to keep up with the pace of innovation and entrepreneurship in China,&rdquo; said Zuckerberg. ;</p>