Mark Zuckerberg And Priscilla Chan Pledge To Donate 99% Of Facebook Shares

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has had quite the week.

Zuckerberg addressed an open letter to his newborn daughter, titled, “Dear Max,” and in the letter the founder and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have pledged to donate 99% of their Facebook shares within their lifetimes.

The money, approximately worth $45 billion, will go to the newly founded Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The power couple did not specify on how and when they would disperse their money. They are waiting to share more details once their paternity and maternity leaves are over.

“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,” shared Zuckerburg in the letter. “Our initial areas of focus will be personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities.”

Zuckerburg was quick to receive praise for his actions, yet some backlash did occur. Many thought his actions were very generous, yet some individuals thought the line between private and public information was blurred. “She’s only been around for a few hours and Max is already a household name. Consider this: Millions of people will have read Zuck’s letter to his daughter by the time she learns the alphabet,” Dave Pell shared on Medium.

Check out the video below where Mark and Priscilla reflect about their hopes for their daughter and the generation to come.