SEATTLE — Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan are using their money in ways that will help countries and people who truly need it. Zuckerberg is the fifth richest person in the world, and he and Chan have announced that they will give 99 percent of their Facebook shares to charitable causes in their lifetimes. In an open letter to their daughter, Zuckerberg and Chan describe the world they hope to create for future generations.
“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…For your generation to live in a better world, there is so much more our generation can do.”
Zuckerberg and Chan will funnel about 45 billion dollars into their charity, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Setting it up as a limited-liability corporation allows Zuckerberg and Chan to have more influence on how their money will be used. “Zuckerberg can do “anything he wants with the money, including political advocacy work, electioneering, and investment.”
In addition, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has also influenced Zuckerberg and Chan’s goals. The couple is working with Bill Gates on “launching the Breakthrough Energy Coalition to invest in new clean-energy technologies.” This aim of this coalition is to increase investments in research that result in new energy technologies.
– Christopher Erle
Photo: Chan Zuckerberg Initiative