Mark Zuckerberg Celebrates Daughter’s Birth By Giving Away 99% Of Facebook Shares

We’ve all heard the news that Mark Zuckerberg just took a leave from work to welcome his first baby. Recently, his wife gave birth to beautiful Max and that simply changes things – a lot of things in fact.

Well aside from Mark spending sleepless nights and doing diaper changes, he and his wife have declared that they will be giving away 99% of their Facebook shares.

I know that sounds insane but it’s really true.

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan recently welcomed Max, their first daughter.

In a public letter addressed to their daughter, Mark and wife Priscilla Chan made the announcement:

Dear Max,

Your mother and I don’t yet have the words to describe the hope you give us for the future.

Your new life is full of promise, and we hope you will be happy and healthy so you can explore it fully.

You’ve already given us a reason to reflect on the world we hope you live in.

Like all parents, we want you to grow up in a world better than ours today.

While headlines often focus on what’s wrong, in many ways the world is getting better.

Health is improving.

Poverty is shrinking.

Knowledge is growing.

People are connecting.

Technological progress in every field means your life should be dramatically better than ours today.

We will do our part to make this happen, not only because we love you, but also because we have a moral responsibility to all children in the next generation.

We believe all lives have equal value, and that includes the many more people who will live in future generations than live today.

Our society has an obligation to invest now to improve the lives of all those coming into this world, not just those already here.

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.”

“We will give 99% of our Facebook shares – currently about $45 billion.”

The couple then mentioned their goal of giving Facebook shares:

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

We will give 99% 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.

We’ll share more details in the coming months once we settle into our new family rhythm and return from our maternity and paternity leaves.

We understand you’ll have many questions about why and how we’re doing this.”

Love,
Mom and Dad

Clearly, they were being humble about the impact of such an act when they said its only a “small contribution.” It’s freakin’ $45 billion! That huge amount of money can surely go a long way in improving the lives of many.