The couple's initiative was announced Tuesday, along with the birth of their baby girl, Max. The couple promised an endowment of $45 billion in Facebook stock, a huge sum that would edge out the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as the world's No. 1 foundation.
According to tax filings, the 15-year-old Gates Foundation's endowment of $41.3 billion is the world's biggest as of June 30.
Likewise, Zuckerberg's new charity foundation will dwarf charity giants, such as the Ford Foundation ($12.3 billion), the J. Paul Getty Trust ($11.1 billion), and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (10.2 billion).
The 31-year-old business tycoon, Zuckerberg, said he and his wife, Priscilla, will donate 99 percent of their shares in Facebook to form the new behemoth nonprofit foundation, according to the report of the New York Post.
"Our initial areas of focus will be personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities," Mark Zuckerberg said in a lengthy letter on his Facebook page.
Hopefully, Zuckerberg has learned something from his $100 million donation to Newark's school system in New Jersey, which was reportedly squandered.
Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, donated 99 percent of their Facebook shares to charity via a new foundation.
The Slate paper reported that Zuckerberg has already made a name in the world of philanthropy, having contributed substantial amounts to medicine- and education-related causes. He donated $25 million last year to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to support its Ebola response, as well as announced on Oprah in 2010 that he was giving $100 million to Newark, New Jersey public schools.
A reader asked whether this is the biggest charitable commitment ever announced. Warren Buffet has said he plans to give away 99 percent of his own wealth, which is bigger than Zuckerberg's, while Bill Gates has said he will also give away 95 percent of his fortune to his own charity. That said, it's still unclear whose contribution will ultimately end up the biggest.
