Mark Zuckerberg to donate 99 percent of his Facebook shares to charity

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan announce in a letter to their newborn daughter Max that they will use 99 percent of their Facebook shares for charity. They currently represent a value of $45 billion.

The Facebook founder writes in the extensive letter, which has been posted publicly on the social network, that world problems such as hunger and poverty can be solved if this generation makes the right investments. “Hopefully during your lifetime,” the letter adds. Zuckerberg is referring to the life of their newborn daughter Max, to whom the letter is addressed.

Together, the parents set up the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, whose mission is to “promote human potential and improve equality.” A financial statement filed by Facebook with the SEC shows that Zuckerberg will invest up to $1 billion worth of shares in the initiative each year for the next three years. He has also announced that he will continue to hold his majority stake in Facebook for the foreseeable future.

The letter also discusses the importance of the internet in combating poverty. Zuckerberg argues that for every ten people who access the Internet, one comes out of poverty and creates a new job. More than four billion people do not yet have access to the internet. Zuckerberg has long been committed to connecting this group of people with his Internet.org initiative. However, he can also count on a lot of criticism for this. Critics say the initiative goes against net neutrality and even poses a potential threat to free speech.

Zuckerberg and Chan follow in the footsteps of Bill Gates and his wife Melinda with their initiative. The Microsoft founder and for a long time the richest man in the world, invested almost all of his wealth in the Bill & Melinda Foundation. Earlier this week, Gates announced the formation of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition, a new initiative that invests in new clean energy technology. Mark Zuckerberg has also joined this coalition.

Mark Zuckerberg, Priscilla Chan and daughter Max