Zuckerberg, wife to donate 99% of their Facebook shares to charity

Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan has decided to donate 99 per cent of their shares in the company to charity during their lives in an effort to make a happy and healthy world as they announced the birth of their daughter Maxima.

In a letter to Maxima posted on his Facebook page, Zuckerberg said, "We are committed to doing our small part to help create this world for all children. We will give 99 per cent of our Facebook shares - currently about $45 billion - during our lives to join many others in improving this world for the next generation".

"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," he said.

"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," Zuckerberg said in his post.

"Our hopes for your generation focus on two ideas: advancing human potential and promoting equality. Advancing human potential is about pushing the boundaries on how great a human life can be," he said.

Zuckerberg said he and Priscilla are committing to spending their lives doing their small part to help solve these challenges.

"I will continue to serve as Facebook's CEO for many, many years to come, but these issues are too important to wait until you or we are older to begin this work. By starting at a young age, we hope to see compounding benefits throughout our lives," he said.

In the letter, he announced to begin Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to join people across the world to advance human potential and promote equality for all children in the next generation.

"Our initial areas of focus will be personalised learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities," he said.

"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," Zuckerberg said.

(PTI)