Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg pledged that he and his wife will give away 99 per cent of their shares in the company “during our lives” to charity.
Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan made the pledge, which is worth approximately US$45 billion, in a Facebook post Tuesday announcing the birth of their daughter, Max Chan Zuckerberg.
The couple also said they are starting the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, an organization to manage their money and “promote equality for all children in the next generation.”
“Our initial areas of focus will be personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities,” the letter read.
The sprawling post emphasized the couple’s desire to help end poverty, contribute to medical research and improve methods of education around the world.
“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,” it reads.
The couple announced Chan’s pregnancy in July in an emotional post that revealed they had gone through three miscarriages.