Mark Zuckerberg welcomed the birth of his first daughter, Max, into the world by vowing to donate 99% of his and wife Priscilla Chan Zuckerberg’s Facebook shares to their newly launched charity.
In a lengthy post published on the social networking site he founded, Zuckerberg penned an open letter to his daughter, outlining their hopes for her and the future of her generation. Zuckerberg wrote: “Your mother and I don’t yet have the words to describe the hope you give us for the future. Your new life is full of promise, and we hope you will be happy and healthy so you can explore it fully.
He continued: “You’ve already given us a reason to reflect on the world we hope you live in. Like all parents, we want you to grow up in a world better than ours today.”
However, Zuckerberg followed this up by stating that he will try to ensure that his optimism becomes a reality, by donating the vast amount of his shares in Facebook to his charity the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. He wrote: “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. Our initial areas of focus will be personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities.
“We will give 99% of our Facebook shares — currently about $45 billion — 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.”
Zuckerberg revealed that he would reveal more details in regards to his plans for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in the near future, concluding: “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.
And we can only focus on serving this community and this mission because we are surrounded by loving family, supportive friends and amazing colleagues. We hope you will have such deep and inspiring relationships in your life too.
“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 can’t wait to see what you bring to this world.”
Watch the video that launched the Chan Zuckberg Initiative below:
A few weeks before Max’s birth, Priscilla and Mark took a morning to reflect and record their hopes for their daughter and all children of her generation.
Posted by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative on Tuesday, 1 December 2015
