Zuckerbergs Make First Investment in Quest to Give Away 99 Percent of Their Facebook Fortune
The couple will gradually give away billions of dollars.
— -- Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, have chosen their first major investment as part of a charitable endeavor set up to give away 99 percent of their Facebook fortune.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative led a $24 million funding round this week into Andela, a start-up dedicated to finding and training technology talent in Africa.
"After a six-month software development program, Andela Fellows work remotely for Fortune 500 companies and startups around the world," Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page. "Companies get access to great developers, and developers in Africa get the opportunity to use their skills and support their communities."
The Zuckerbergs are planning to give away what amounts to about $45 billion at today's value, but not all at once. The couple plans to gradually donate the shares to the newly formed Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Zuckerberg, 32, will also keep his majority voting stake at Facebook, even as he transfers more shares to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
Zuckerberg will sell or gift no more than $1 billion of Facebook stock each year for the next three years and will retain his majority voting position in the company "for the foreseeable future," the filing said.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative plans to tackle lofty goals, including curing disease, reducing poverty and harvesting clean energy. The couple announced their new charitable initiative in December to coincide with the birth of their first child, daughter Max.