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| Mark Zuckerberg rings the Nasdaq bell as Facebook shares go on sale |
He appeared via video link from a celebration at the social network's headquarters in California.
The shares are priced at $38 each, valuing the eight-year-old social network site at $104bn (£66bn).
Strong demand has led Facebook to increase both the price and the number of shares available for sale.
The Nasdaq exchange, which is where technology giants such as Google and Apple are traded, opened at 0930 local time (1430 BST), with buying and selling of Facebook shares set to begin at 1105 local time.
Facebook's valuation means the social network site is worth about the same as internet shopping giant Amazon, and more than the value of stalwarts such as Disney.
The initial public offering (IPO) of the shares is the third-largest in US history, after the financial giant Visa and General Motors.
Facebook's owners are releasing just under a fifth of the company's total shares, about 421 million, which could raise about $18bn.
Facebook employees have been up all night ahead of the event, taking part in a "hackathon" at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California.
It is an event in which programmers work on projects and come up with new ideas.
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