Mark & Pricilla Zuckerberg’s Letter to their New Child & Also The World—Donating 99% of their Fortune to Charity.

Mark and Pricilla Zuckerberg have shared a family photograph showing them with their new daughter, Max, which was accompanied by a profound and touching letter.

The letter speaks not only of the individual concern they have for the safety and security of their own child’s future, but also for all current and future generation across the whole world.

Although it is not known exactly when their daughter was born, the new father, the CEO of Facebook, shared a post to his Facebook page saying, “Priscilla and I are so happy to welcome our daughter Max into this world. For her birth, we wrote a letter to her about the world we hope she grows up in.”

While Pricilla Chan, a pediatrician, wrote on her page, “I am beyond thrilled to introduce you to our Max. Her being fills us with hope and inspires us to join others in creating a better future.”

The Zuckerbergs have poignantly explained how we are all interconnected and, whilst there is a vast amount of essential work creating enormous changes that are taking place on a daily basis, there is an incredible amount of work that still must be done.

The new parents also took this opportunity to announce they will be donating 99 percent of their Facebook shares to the work of a new charitable foundation. The donation, which they call a small contribution in the scheme of the vast amount of work being done in the world, is worth approximately $45 billion. As of the current valuation of Facebook, that would leave the Zuckerbergs with $450 million.

Detailing the reasons for the donation the couple went on to say, “It’s a world where our generation can advance human potential and promote equality—by curing disease, personalizing learning, harnessing clean energy, connecting people, building strong communities, reducing poverty, providing equal rights and spreading understanding across nations.”

The intention of his pledge is, “not only for justice or charity, but for the greatness of human progress.” The Zuckerbergs hope to help eliminate poverty, provide everyone with basic healthcare, build inclusive welcoming communities, achieve a peaceful relationship between all nations and to “empower everyone women, children and the underrepresented minorities, immigrants and the unconnected.”

They hope to achieve these things within their child’s lifetime, saying, “together we can succeed and create a more equal world.”

The letter, which is sure to be shared across all of Facebook, concluded, “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. Love, Mom and Dad.”

The happy couple also shared a video to their Facebook page, The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative detailing their plans for the new project.

Bill Gate’s wife, Melinda, commented on the Facebook post, saying:

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“Welcome to the world, Max! Bill Gates and I can’t wait to meet you. You are lucky to have such an amazing mom and dad.

Mark and Priscilla: Congratulations—we’re thrilled for both of you! Raising children is a great adventure and the best thing we have ever done together. You will be fantastic parents.

As for your decision to give back so generously, and to deepen your commitment now, the first word that comes to mind is: Wow. The example you’re setting today is an inspiration to us and the world.

We can be confident of this: Max and every child born today will grow up in a world that is better than the one we know now. As you say, “seeds planted now will grow.” Your work will bear fruit for many decades to come.

With love and admiration,
Melinda”

All lives matter…

In the letter, Zuckerburg states:

For your generation to live in a better world, there is so much more our generation can do.

Today your mother and I are committing to spend our lives doing our small part to help solve these challenges. I will continue to serve as Facebook’s CEO for many, many years to come, but these issues are too important to wait until you or we are older to begin this work. By starting at a young age, we hope to see compounding benefits throughout our lives.

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 personalized 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.

For the entire letter, click here.
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BONUS: The kind of human the Buddha would admire:

Relephant Favorite:

Internet Access, a Right or a Privilege: Zuckerberg Takes a Stand.

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Author: Alex Myles

Editor: Travis May

Image: Courtesy of Mark Zuckerburg

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