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| Parents Mark Zuckerberg and wife with new daughter Max. |
The Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg has announced he has become a father for the first time and is celebrating his daughter’s birth by vowing to give away £30 billion to “advancing human potential and promoting equality”. The proud social media site’s CEO posted a picture of newborn Max alongside his wife Priscilla Chan . At the same time he printed the letter the couple had written to their daughter in which he vowed to give away 99
per cent of his shares in Facebook. The 2,220 word letter read: “Dear Max, Your mother and I don’t yet have the words to describe the hope you give us for the future.
“Your new life is full of promise, and we hope you will be happy and healthy so you can explore it fully. Reuters Couple: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan “You’ve already given us a reason to reflect on the world we hope you live in. “Like all parents, we want you to grow up in a world better than ours today. “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. Reuters Vow: Zuckerberg has pledged to give away 99 per cent of his Facebook shares “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.
“We believe all lives have equal value, and that includes the many more people who will live in future generations than live today. “Our society has an obligation to invest now to improve the lives of all those coming into this world, not just those already here.” Zuckerberg, who is estimated to be worth around $47 billion (£31.2 billion), then set out his plans to give away his wealth. The 31-tear-old, the world’s sixth richest man, set out how he would give away his money saying he realised it was a “a small contribution”. PA Speaking to Max he wrote: “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 personalised 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. Facebook “We’ll share more details in the coming months once we settle into our new family rhythm and return from our maternity and paternity leaves. “We understand you’ll have many questions about why and how we’re doing this.” He signed off “Love, Mom and Dad”. Zuckerberg, 31, founded the social network in 2004 when he was 19 and dropped out of Harvard to move the company to Silicon Valley. He married Priscilla in May 2012 after meeting her when she was a medical student nine years earlier.