Zuckerberg to give 99% of Facebook stock away
Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg, whose wife just gave birth to a baby girl the couple have named Max, announced plans to give away 99 percent of his stock in the social network during his lifetime to advance philanthropic causes.
The current value of the planned donation is $45 billion (A$61.41 billion), Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, said in a letter posted on Facebook on Tuesday.
Also read: Mark Zuckerberg on philanthropy
The co-founder doesn’t plan to give away more than $1 billion (A$1.35 billion) a year for at least the next three years, the company said in a separate filing, meaning Zuckerberg will still maintain voting control of Facebook for the foreseeable future.
Zuckerberg outlined his philanthropic mission, focused on “advancing human potential and promoting equality,” in a letter to his newborn daughter.
Also read: Zuckerberg to take paternity leave
“Our society has an obligation to invest now to improve the lives of all those coming into this world, not just those already here,” Zuckerberg and Chan wrote in the letter.
“But right now, we don’t always collectively direct our resources at the biggest opportunities and problems your generation will face.”
Source: Bloomberg