Mark Zuckerberg Donates $500 Million To Charity


Bangalore: Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg is donating $500 million in Facebook stock to a Silicon Valley charity. It happens to be his second major donation since his commitment to give away most of his wealth, reports Economic Times.

Zuckerberg in a Facebook post said that he would work with the Silicon Valley Community Foundation to "look for areas in education and health to focus on."

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Has part of his involvement in The Giving Pledge, the founder of the world’s largest online social network, whose shares worth about $11 billion, announced plans in 2010 to give $100 million gift to the beleaguered public schools of Newark, New Jersey. And his latest donation will be of 18 million Facebook shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation to "lay the foundation for new projects." At Tuesday's closing price of $27.71 per Facebook share, the gift translates to $498.8 million.

The Giving Pledge was launched by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffet in 2010, the group asks U.S. billionaires to donate at least half of their wealth their lifetime or after their death and to publicly state their intention with a letter explaining their decision.