This week, along with the announcement of their first child, Max, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have pledged to give away 99 percent of their forty-five and a half billion dollar fortune. The two, aged thirty-one and thirty respectively, will place the funds in a what they deem the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a LLC the mission of the organization is to “join people across the world to advance human potential and promote equality for all children in the next generation,” as stated by the couple on Facebook.
Since the days of Carnegie and Rockefeller, giving away fortunes and becoming a philanthropist is one of the many things that the country’s wealthiest seem to deem necessary. While not all are as young as the Facebook creator and his bride when deciding to be so immensely giving, the likes of Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg have done the same and applaud Zuckerberg’s gesture. Of course, there’s always varying opinions, naturally, there are people who question Zuckerberg’s motives. Some say his the mission of his “organization” is too vague, they ponder about the fact that he chose to funnel the funds through a LLC and not another option.
Later in the week, Zuckerberg turned to Facebook to combat and refute all of the oppositions and implications that have arisen ever since the original announcement. Nevertheless, there is something to be admired of Mark and Priscilla for being globally charitable, not only for the present, but for the future.