Mark Zuckerberg Is Giving Away 99 Percent Of His Facebook Stock

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg just had a baby girl named Max, and to honor the occasion he's giving away a massive portion of his wealth.

The tech leader took to the social network Tuesday to announce the birth of his first child and the formation of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative , which he said will "join people across the world to advance human potential and promote equality for all children in the next generation."

The announcement was framed as a letter written by Zuckerberg and wife, Priscilla Chan , to their new baby girl.

"For your generation to live in a better world, there is so much more our generation can do," Zuckerberg wrote. "Today your mother and I are committing to spend our lives doing our small part to help solve these challenges."

According to the Facebook head, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative will focus on "personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities."

Zuckerberg and Chan will donate nearly all of their Facebook stock to the cause.

"We will give 99% of our Facebook shares -- currently about $45 billion -- during our lives to advance this mission," he wrote. "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."

A few weeks before Maxs birth, Priscilla and Mark took a morning to reflect and record their hopes for their daughter and all children of her generation.
Posted by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative on Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Facebook filed a form with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday revealing that Zuckerberg does not intend to give more than $1 billion a year for the next three years and that he intends to maintain a majority voting position at Facebook "for the foreseeable future."

According to an SEC filing, Zuckerberg owns 419 million Facebook shares. At Tuesday's closing price of $107.12, Zuckerbergs pledge to give away 99 percent of these shares to his newly formed initiative is worth $44.3 billion. Zuckerberg will keep $449 million worth of shares of the company he founded, along with a majority of Facebook's B shares, which provide voting rights in the company.

As Business Insider noted , Mark Zuckerberg signed the Giving Pledge in 2010 , which meant he committed more than half of his wealth to philanthropy or charity. The Giving Pledge was started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett -- which is suitable given that Zuckerberg has said that Gates was his hero growing up .

Read Zuckerberg's full post here .

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