Mark Zuckerberg Gives Stunning Announcement That He's Giving Away This Huge Percentage of His Facebook Shares

Aimee Herd : Dec 2, 2015
Business Insider

"...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." -Mark Zuckerberg, Dr. Pricilla Chan

Not everyone may be a fan of Facebook, however, you can't deny the generosity of the social media giant's founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. (Photo via Business Insider)

On Tuesday, Zuckerberg announced that he would give away 99% of his Facebook shares over his lifetime—which is valued today at $45 billion—with intent to aid "personalized learning, curing diseases, and connecting people."

That doesn't mean that he is giving up control of Facebook, though.

According to a Business Insider report, Zuckerberg will retain control of the majority of Facebook voting rights for the foreseeable future, and has limited himself to giving away no more than $1 billion in Facebook stock each year for the next three years, according to an SEC filing.

Because of Facebook's unique dual-class structure, where he owns special super voting shares, Zuckerberg can give away ordinary shares of stock while still maintaining majority control of the social network he founded in 2004.

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan (a pediatrician) formed the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, with the mission statement to: "Advance human potential and promote equality in areas such as health, education, scientific research, and energy."

Zuckerberg made his announcement through an open letter to his newborn daughter Max, saying:

Today your mother and I are committing to spend our lives doing our small part to help solve these challenges. I will continue to serve as Facebook's CEO for many, many years to come, but these issues are too important to wait until you or we are older to begin this work. By starting at a young age, we hope to see compounding benefits throughout our lives.

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.