Mark Zuckerberg Announces Birth of Baby Girl and Plans to Donate 99% Wealth

President Obama with Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg announces plans to donate 99% of shares in Facebook, after birth of baby daughter Max. |

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have announced birth of their new baby daughter along with a pledge to donate 99 percent of their shares in the social networking platform to charitable causes over the course of their lives.

The stock to be donated is currently valued at $45 billion, and will be used to "promote equality for all children" through a Chan Zuckerberg trust, according to an open letter written by the proud parents to their daughter Max on Facebook.

"Priscilla and I are so happy to welcome our daughter Max into this world. For her birth, we wrote a letter to her about the world we hope she grows up in," they say in the post with an attached letter.

"It's a world where our generation can advance human potential and promote equality - by curing disease, personalising learning, harnessing clean energy, connecting people, building strong communities, reducing poverty, providing equal rights and spreading understanding across nations.

"We are committed to doing our small part to help create this world for all children. We will give 99pc of our Facebook shares - currently about $45bn - during our lives to join many others in improving this world for the next generation."

Though the details have not yet been specified as to how the money is to be spent, the charity plans to spend not more than $1 billion per year over the next three years while retaining a major stake in Facebook, according to the Telegraph.

"Our initial areas of focus will be personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities," the letter reads.

"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."

The Chan Zuckerberg trust will be based on the model of a limited liability company and not on a non-profit foundation, so that they will be able to make investments and seek to influence policy debates, which nonprofits are not allowed to do as per tax regulations. The profits from the investments would be used to further the charitable activities.

"We must build technology to make change. Many institutions invest money in these challenges, but most progress comes from productivity gains through innovation," they wrote in the open letter. "We must participate in policy and advocacy to shape debates. Many institutions are unwilling to do this, but progress must be supported by movements to be sustainable."

Zuckerberg and Chan have made previous efforts at donating, including $100 million to Newark Public School System, $120 million to San Francisco communities, and some $25 million to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to fight against Ebola.