Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla with their new daughter Max. Photo: Facebook
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife plan to give away 99 percent of their shares in the company to charity.
The tech titan, and his wife Priscilla Chan, made the pledge on his Facebook page today, as they announced the birth of their daughter Max.
They’ll be selling or gifting up to $US1 billion worth of stock for each of the next three years. At current market prices, those shares are worth roughly $US45 billion.
Zuckerberg said they were donating their fortune because they wanted to make the world a better place for Max to grow up in.
“It's a world where our generation can advance human potential and promote equality - by curing disease, personalizing learning, harnessing clean energy, connecting people, building strong communities, reducing poverty, providing equal rights and spreading understanding across nations.
“We are committed to doing our small part to help create this world for all children.”
Their fortune will be donated to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which has the aim of "advancing human potential and promoting equality for all children in the next generation".
Its initial areas of focus will be personalised learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities.
Zuckerberg said he would maintain voting control of Facebook for the "foreseeable future".
A version of this story was first published on radionz.co.nz.