Gives away 99% of his $45,000,000,000 wealth
Gives away 99% of his $45,000,000,000 wealth
Facebook Inc promoter Mark Zuckerberg will put 99 per cent of his shares, currently worth about $45 billion, into a new philanthropy project focusing on human potential and equality, he and his wife said on Tuesday in a letter to their newborn daughter.
The plan, which was posted on the Facebook founder and chief executive officer’s page, attracted more than 570,000 “likes,” including from singer Shakira, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Melinda Gates, wife of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. The Gates and other high-profile billionaires such as Warren Buffett have set up foundations of their own to dedicate their massive fortunes to philanthropic endeavours.
Mr Zuckerberg, 31, who will control the new initiative jointly with his wife, Priscilla Chan, while remaining in charge of the world’s largest online social network, said he would sell or give up to $1 billion in shares in each of the next three years.
Mr Zuckerberg will keep a controlling stake in Facebook, valued at $303 billion as of Tues-day’s close, for what the company called the “foreseeable future.”
Mr Zuckerberg’s new project, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, is not his first in the world of philanthropy. When he was 26, he signed the Giving Pledge, which invites the world’s wealthiest individuals and families to commit to giving more than half of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes over their lifetime or in their will.
“Mark and Priscilla are breaking the mold with this breathtaking commitment,” Mr Buffett said on Facebook. “A combination of brains, passion and resources on this scale will change the lives of millions. On behalf of future generations, I thank them.”
Melinda Gates chimed in, “The first word that comes to mind is: Wow. The example you’re setting today is an inspiration to us and the world.”
Mr Zuckerberg is relatively young to commit so much of his wealth. Microsoft co-founder Gates was 45 in 2000, the year he and his wife founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Mr Buffett was 76 in 2006 when he committed to give away all of his Berkshire Hathaway stock to philanthropic organisations.
“Mark’s decision shows that when it comes to philanthropy, 30 is the new 70,” said former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who also has agreed to the Giving Pledge.
In welcoming the birth of his first child Maxima Chan Zuckerberg on his Facebook page, Mr Zuckerberg and Chan said in their letter that the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative aims to “adva-nce human potential and promote equality.”
