Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is over the moon because of the arrival of his baby girl named Max, and to honour her birth, he and his wife Priscilla Chan have offered to donate almost all of their wealth—roughly around $45 billion—to charity.
Zuckerberg wrote a lengthy letter for his daughter Max on his Facebook page, and committed to make the world a better place so that she and other babies will have a brighter future ahead of them.
"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," Zuckerberg writes. "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."
Zuckerberg and Chan have already started the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, where they will use 99 percent of their Facebook stockholdngs to help fight diseases, improve education, as well as build "strong communities."
He then explained that their hope for Max's generation focuses on two ideals—advancing human potential and promoting equality. "Advancing human potential is about pushing the boundaries on how great a human life can be," he explains, while "promoting equality is about making sure everyone has access to these opportunities—regardless of the nation, families or circumstances they are born into."
The Facebook founder said these are essential in human progress, and he believes that the only way to do so is if every person in the world channel their talents, ideas, and contributions towards the right goal.
"Like all parents, we want you to grow up in a world better than ours today," the 31-year-old social media giant says. "Max, we love you and feel a great responsibility to leave the world a better place for you and all children. We wish you a life filled with the same love, hope and joy you give us. We can't wait to see what you bring to this world."
Zuckerberg's announcement has sent the charity world in a frenzy, according to Fox News. "It's incredibly impressive and an enormous commitment that really eclipses anything that we've seen in terms of size," said Phil Buchanan, president of the nonprofit Center for Effective Philanthropy.
They have already eclipsed the donation made by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, his wife Melinda, and businessman Warren Buffet, who made a $41 billion donation through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
