Mark Zuckerberg, the co-founder and chief executive of Facebook, vowed last Tuesday that he and his family would donate 99 percent of their Facebook shares to charitable purposes. According to the New York Times, the donation is worth $45 billion and will be worth even more if Facebook continues to grow.
The Zuckerbergs are investing in the future world their newborn daughter will be growing up in. Their main charitable interests are equality and innovation, but health and education are not forgotten either. The transfer of 99 percent of their shares will be a slow transition each year, throughout their lifetime. Mark Zuckerberg said in a video, “having this child has made us think about all of the things that should be improved in the world for her whole gene
ration”.
What does this mean for Facebook? Nothing in the foreseeable future; however, Mark Zuckerberg will slowly be giving away his stock in the company to retain his majority voting position in the company for now.
He wrote in a letter to his daughter, “We must build technology to make change. Many institutions invest money in these challenges, but most progress comes from productivity gains through innovation”.
It will be interesting to see how his new Zuckerberg Initiative will go about future projects, since it is set up as an LLC. rather than a nonprofit or foundation.
His intentions have been criticized because of its LLC. status; however, the couple wants to have control of where their money goes and to what charitable initiatives. To find out more about how the $45 billion will be donated read http://fortune.com/2015/12/02/zuckerberg-charity/.
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