Close X
Tuesday, November 26, 2024
ADVT 
National

Mark Zuckerberg Welcomes His Daughter, And Will Devote $45 Billion To Combat World Ills

The Canadian Press, 02 Dec, 2015 12:03 PM
    SAN FRANCISCO — Talk about birth announcements: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife said they'll devote nearly all their wealth — roughly $45 billion — to good works in celebration of their new baby daughter, Max.
     
    Zuckerberg's wife, Priscilla Chan, gave birth to a 7-pound, 8-ounce daughter last week. But the couple didn't put out the news until Tuesday, when Zuckerberg posted it on — of course — Facebook.
     
    In the same post, Zuckerberg said he and Chan will commit 99 per cent of their Facebook stock to such causes as fighting disease, improving education and "building strong communities." They are forming a new organization, called the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, that will pursue those goals through a combination of charitable donations, private investment and promotion of government-policy reform.
     
    "Like all parents, we want you to grow up in a world better than ours today," the social media mogul and his wife wrote in a letter to their daughter, which they also posted on Facebook.
     
    In the letter, they described their goals as "advancing human potential and promoting equality" and added: "We must make long term investments over 25, 50 or even 100 years. The greatest challenges require very long time horizons and cannot be solved by short term thinking."
     
    Zuckerberg promised to release more details in the future. But he said the couple will transfer most of their wealth to the initiative "during our lives." In a statement, Facebook described the initiative as not a foundation but "a limited liability company controlled by Mark and Priscilla."
     
    The Facebook co-founder and chief executive is one of the world's wealthiest men. He and Chan, a pediatrician, have previously donated large sums to public schools in Newark, New Jersey and the San Francisco Bay Area, along with the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where Chan did her medical training.
     
    But Zuckerberg told the Associated Press in an interview last month that he has no plans to step down as CEO of Facebook. In a statement, the company also said the couple's plan to transfer their shares over time won't affect his status as controlling shareholder of the company.
     
    In addition, Zuckerberg has committed to dispose of no more than $1 billion of Facebook stock every year for the next three years, the company said.
     
     
    ZUCKERBERG'S $45 BILLION PHILANTHROPIC BID STUNS CHARITY WORLD
     
    SAN FRANCISCO — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is shaking up yet another sector — the charity world — with his surprise announcement that he and his wife will devote the bulk of their wealth, or about $45 billion, to philanthropic works.
     
    The move will eventually put him and his wife, Priscilla Chan, in the same philanthropic echelon as Bill and Melinda Gates. It also involves a new type of philanthropic structure that differs from traditional foundations, although details on that remain scarce.
     
    Zuckerberg made his pledge on Facebook in celebration of his daughter Max's birth.
     
    The Zuckerbergs said Tuesday they will, over time, commit 99 per cent of their Facebook stockholdings to such causes as fighting disease, improving education and "building strong communities." The couple had previously pledged to give away at least half their assets during their lifetime, but hadn't provided specifics.
     
    The announcement stunned the charity world. "It's incredibly impressive and an enormous commitment that really eclipses anything that we've seen in terms of size," said Phil Buchanan, president of the non-profit Center for Effective Philanthropy.
     
    The new organization, called the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, will pursue its initiatives through a combination of charitable donations, private investment and promotion of government-policy reform.
     
    By comparison, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has an endowment of just over $41 billion, which includes wealth donated by the Microsoft founder and his friend, the businessman Warren Buffett.
     
    The new initiative will be organized as a limited liability company, however, rather than as a non-profit foundation. "They want the most flexibility and they are going to use a wide variety of activities to achieve their mission," Rachael Horwitz, a Facebook spokeswoman, said via email. "So in that way this is not a foundation nor is it entirely charitable."
     
    The notion of investing money in companies that tackle social issues isn't new, but it has gained more currency among a younger generation of philanthropists, particularly in the tech world.
     
    Zuckerberg has also shown a previous interest in influencing public policy. He led other prominent Silicon Valley figures in forming a group, FWD.us, that lobbied and gave donations to congressional candidates in an unsuccessful effort to promote immigration reforms. Depending on how much of the new effort is devoted to lobbying, it could raise new questions about the influence of money in today's politics, some experts said.
     
    In the letter to their daughter, Zuckerberg and Chan described their goals as "advancing human potential and promoting equality." They added: "We must make long term investments over 25, 50 or even 100 years. The greatest challenges require very long time horizons and cannot be solved by short term thinking."
     
    While Zuckerberg promised to release more details in the future, he said the couple will transfer most of their wealth to the initiative "during our lives." The couple will be in charge of the initiative, although Zuckerberg won't be quitting his day job.
     
    "I have a full-time job running Facebook," he told The Associated Press in an interview last month, during which he discussed the couple's approach to philanthropy. Of his job at the social network, he added, "I'm going to be doing this for long time."
     
    The Facebook co-founder is one of the world's wealthiest men. He and Chan, a 30-year-old pediatrician, have previously donated $100 million to public schools in Newark, New Jersey, and pledged $120 million to schools in poor communities of the San Francisco Bay Area. They've also given $75 million to the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, where Chan did her medical training.
     
    In a statement, Facebook said the couple's plan to transfer their shares over time won't affect his status as controlling shareholder of the company. The company said Zuckerberg has committed to dispose of no more than $1 billion of Facebook stock every year for the next three years.
     
    Zuckerberg and Chan had announced on Facebook last July that they were expecting a daughter, after Chan had three previous miscarriages. Horwitz said a 7-pound, 8-ounce baby was born early last week, but declined to say which day.
     
    "Mom and baby are both healthy and doing well," Horwitz added. Zuckerberg has said he plans to take two months of paternity leave.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Conservatives Cool Their Heels, Eye 2017 Leadership Vote

    OTTAWA — Familiar, experienced Conservatives will take their places on the opposition benches this week in the Commons, but behind them is a party that is exhausted, in organizational limbo, and only slowly beginning to plan for a leadership race.

    Conservatives Cool Their Heels, Eye 2017 Leadership Vote

    B.C. Climate Report Says Hike Carbon Tax, Extend Reduction Targets To 2050

    In the report released Friday, a climate leadership team concluded the province will fail to meet its 2020 targets and recommends focusing emission-reduction targets for 2030 and 2050.

    B.C. Climate Report Says Hike Carbon Tax, Extend Reduction Targets To 2050

    UBC Graduate Student Society Launches Confidential Harassment Reporting Website

    UBC Graduate Student Society Launches Confidential Harassment Reporting Website
    The university's graduate student society has launched a website called "My Grad Story" that encourages students to share their experiences through an online form, a private appointment or by sharing publicly on social media.

    UBC Graduate Student Society Launches Confidential Harassment Reporting Website

    Justin Trudeau To Discuss Climate Change In Meeting With Indian PM Narendra Modi

    Justin Trudeau To Discuss Climate Change In Meeting With Indian PM Narendra Modi
    India's Modi took a pass on Malta and his country is seen as a significant impediment to a global climate change pact, given India's refusal to rein in its galloping greenhouse gas emissions.

    Justin Trudeau To Discuss Climate Change In Meeting With Indian PM Narendra Modi

    Maine Ski Resort Works Focuses On Safety After 2nd Lift Accident In 5 Years

    Maine Ski Resort Works Focuses On Safety After 2nd Lift Accident In 5 Years
    Sugarloaf is spending $1.5 million to make improvements after a chairlift malfunction allowed it to move in reverse last March, injuring seven skiers.

    Maine Ski Resort Works Focuses On Safety After 2nd Lift Accident In 5 Years

    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Pledges $15Million To Train Youth In Eight African Countries

    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Pledges $15Million To Train Youth In Eight African Countries
    VALLETTA, Malta — The Canadian government will contribute more than $15 million to help train youth in eight African countries find good jobs.

    Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Pledges $15Million To Train Youth In Eight African Countries