Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg to give away 99% of shares
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan
say they will give away 99% of their shares in the
company to good causes as they announce the birth of
their daughter Max.
Mr Zuckerberg made the announcement in a letter to Max
on his Facebook page.
He said they are donating their fortune to the Chan
Zuckerberg Initiative because they want to make the world
a better place for Max to grow up in.
The donation amounts to $45bn (£30bn) at Facebook's
current value.
However the shares will not be donated to charity
immediately, but over the course of the couple's lives.
Max was born last week, although her birth was only made
public public on Tuesday.
In his letter Mr Zuckerberg said the aim of the Chan
Zuckerberg Initiative is "to advance human potential and
promote equality for all children in the next generation".
Its initial areas of focus will be personalised learning, curing
disease, connecting people and building strong
communities.
"Your mother and I don't yet have the words to describe the
hope you give us for the future," Mr Zuckerberg said at the
start of his letter to Max.
"You've already given us a reason to reflect on the world we
hope you live in," it added.
Dave Lee, BBC North America Technology Reporter, San
Francisco
Billionaire investor Warren Buffet congratulated Zuckerberg
and Chan, proclaiming that when it comes to giving away
your fortune, "30 is the new 70".
No longer should billionaires wait to die before handing
over money to a different generation, Buffet said, in a
gushing approval of Silicon Valley's newest and most
influential power couple.
Everything Mark Zuckerberg does is eyed with intense
scrutiny, not least due to the nature of Facebook's business
of making money from personal data.
But while the 31-year-old's previous charitable efforts have
been criticised for being too focused on building Facebook's
user base, this latest pledge appears to leave the Facebook
business to one side.
It's a continuation of what we've seen developing over the
past six months, where Zuckerberg appears at ease hosting
heads of state as he does in the company of his own
development team.
The days of Mark Zuckerberg being seen as a nerdy,
awkward tech dork are well behind us.
His ambition now is clearly to be a significant figure on the
global political stage.
Silicon Valley's new power couple
Zuckerberg to take two months' paternity leave
Facebook hits one billion users in a day
Facebook paid £4,327 UK corporation tax in 2014
The letter highlighted the important role of technology in
achieving the couple's goals of advancing human potential
and equality.
"Many of the greatest opportunities for your generation will
come from giving everyone access to the internet," Mr
Zuckerberg wrote to his daughter.
He said more details about the donation will be released
once he and Ms Chan return from paternity and maternity
leave.
Mr Zuckerberg, who Forbes estimate is worth some
$46.8bn, said he will remain chief executive of Facebook for
"many, many years to come".
say they will give away 99% of their shares in the
company to good causes as they announce the birth of
their daughter Max.
Mr Zuckerberg made the announcement in a letter to Max
on his Facebook page.
He said they are donating their fortune to the Chan
Zuckerberg Initiative because they want to make the world
a better place for Max to grow up in.
The donation amounts to $45bn (£30bn) at Facebook's
current value.
However the shares will not be donated to charity
immediately, but over the course of the couple's lives.
Max was born last week, although her birth was only made
public public on Tuesday.
In his letter Mr Zuckerberg said the aim of the Chan
Zuckerberg Initiative is "to advance human potential and
promote equality for all children in the next generation".
Its initial areas of focus will be personalised learning, curing
disease, connecting people and building strong
communities.
"Your mother and I don't yet have the words to describe the
hope you give us for the future," Mr Zuckerberg said at the
start of his letter to Max.
"You've already given us a reason to reflect on the world we
hope you live in," it added.
Dave Lee, BBC North America Technology Reporter, San
Francisco
Billionaire investor Warren Buffet congratulated Zuckerberg
and Chan, proclaiming that when it comes to giving away
your fortune, "30 is the new 70".
No longer should billionaires wait to die before handing
over money to a different generation, Buffet said, in a
gushing approval of Silicon Valley's newest and most
influential power couple.
Everything Mark Zuckerberg does is eyed with intense
scrutiny, not least due to the nature of Facebook's business
of making money from personal data.
But while the 31-year-old's previous charitable efforts have
been criticised for being too focused on building Facebook's
user base, this latest pledge appears to leave the Facebook
business to one side.
It's a continuation of what we've seen developing over the
past six months, where Zuckerberg appears at ease hosting
heads of state as he does in the company of his own
development team.
The days of Mark Zuckerberg being seen as a nerdy,
awkward tech dork are well behind us.
His ambition now is clearly to be a significant figure on the
global political stage.
Silicon Valley's new power couple
Zuckerberg to take two months' paternity leave
Facebook hits one billion users in a day
Facebook paid £4,327 UK corporation tax in 2014
The letter highlighted the important role of technology in
achieving the couple's goals of advancing human potential
and equality.
"Many of the greatest opportunities for your generation will
come from giving everyone access to the internet," Mr
Zuckerberg wrote to his daughter.
He said more details about the donation will be released
once he and Ms Chan return from paternity and maternity
leave.
Mr Zuckerberg, who Forbes estimate is worth some
$46.8bn, said he will remain chief executive of Facebook for
"many, many years to come".
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