Facebook founder, MarMark Zuckerberg and his welcomed their first child, Max, to the world last week.
The emotion laden occasion of the birth of their first child was perhaps the spur for Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, to announce that they will give away 99% of their Facebook shares to charity.
Mark Zuckerberg disclosed their decision in a letter to his daughter posted on his Facebook page.
The value of the shares is estimated at $45 bn today and the shares will not be given away immediately but over a period of time.
Here’s an excerpt of his letter to Max,
“Dear Max,
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. 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.
While headlines often focus on what’s wrong, in many ways the world is getting better. Health is improving. Poverty is shrinking. Knowledge is growing. People are connecting. Technological progress in every field means your life should be dramatically better than ours today.
We will do our part to make this happen, not only because we love you, but also because we have a moral responsibility to all children in the next generation.
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.”