IANS | 02 Dec, 2015
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan
have pledged to donate 99 percent of their Facebook shares -- about $45 billion
-- to advance human potential and promote equality for children.
Declaring the "Chan Zuckerberg Initiative" as they welcomed their
first girl child Maxima Chan Zuckerberg or "Max", the couple on
Tuesday said they have created a new foundation that would initially focus on
"personalised learning, curing disease, connecting people and building
strong communities."
"As you begin the next generation of the Chan Zuckerberg family, we also
begin the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to join people across the world to advance
human potential and promote equality for all children in the next
generation," they posted in a 2,200-word letter to their new-born daughter
on Facebook.
"We will give 99 percent of our Facebook shares during our lives to
advance this mission. 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," the couple wrote.
We will share more details in the coming months once we settle into our new
family rhythm and return from our maternity and paternity leaves, Zuckerberg
said.
In the letter to their new-born daughter, the new parents said: "Today
your mother and I are committing to spend our lives doing our small part to
help solve these challenges."
Zuckerberg owns about four million of Class A shares in Facebook and
approximately 419 million Class B shares.
Each Class B share is worth 10 votes apiece which gives Zuckerberg majority
voting power and control over Facebook's strategic direction.
"We can make progress towards these opportunities only by standing on the
shoulders of experts -- our mentors, partners and many incredible people whose
contributions built these fields," the letter read.
"Max, we love you and feel a great responsibility to leave the world a
better place for you and all children. We wish you a life filled with the same
love, hope and joy you give us. We cannot wait to see what you bring to this
world," the proud parents said.
"Many of the greatest opportunities for your generation will come from
giving everyone access to the internet. The internet is so important that for
every 10 people who gain internet access, about one person is lifted out of
poverty and about one new job is created," the letter further read.
Yet still more than half of the world's population -- over four billion people
-- do not have access to the internet.
"If our generation connects them, we can lift hundreds of millions of
people out of poverty. We can also help hundreds of millions of children get an
education and save millions of lives by helping people avoid disease," the
Facebook CEO pointed out.
Facebook currently has 1.44 billion monthly active users.