Zuckerberg Gives Away 99% Of His Shares As Daughter Is Born

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers a keynote during the Facebook f8 Developer Conference at the San Francisco Design Center in San Francisco on September 22, 2011 in California. AFP PHOTO /  Kimihiro Hoshino (Photo credit should read KIMIHIRO HOSHINO/AFP/Getty Images)

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has made headlines this morning for his pledge to give away 99 per cent of Facebook’s shares over the course of he and his wife, Priscilla Chan’s, lives. The shares are estimated to be worth around $US45 billion.

The news comes as Zuckerberg’s daughter, Max, is born. The donations from Zuckerberg and Chan will go towards a new entity called the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a philanthropic organisation created by the duo to help “advance human potential and promote equality”.

Zuckerberg penned an open letter to his daughter about the state of the world and he and his wife’s wish for a better future. However he has stated he will remain as Facebook’s CEO for “many, many years to come”.

“As you begin the next generation of the Chan Zuckerberg family, we also begin the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to join people across the world to advance human potential and promote equality for all children in the next generation,” the letter said.

“Our initial areas of focus will be personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities.

“We will give 99 per cent of our Facebook shares — currently about $45 billion — during our lives to advance this mission. We know this is a small contribution compared to all the resources and talents of those already working on these issues. But we want to do what we can, working alongside many others.”

Read the full letter here.

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