Facebook founder donates $500 mn to charity

London, Dec 20 (IANS) Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has donated about $500 million in stock to a Silicon Valley charity which is his largest donation to date, Daily Mail reported.

The 28-year-old, who is also the founder of social networking site Facebook, announced about the generous donation on his Facebook page since signing over 18 million Facebook shares valued at $498.8 million based on their Tuesday closing price.

“Two years ago, Priscilla and I signed The Giving Pledge, committing to donate the majority of the money we earn to charity,” Zuckerberg, typically seen in hoodies and t-shirts, wrote on his Facebook page.

“Today, in order to lay the foundation for new projects, we’ve made a contribution of 18 million Facebook shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Together, we will look for areas in education and health to focus on next. I’m hopeful we’ll be able to have as positive an impact in our next set of projects.”

Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the beneficiary organisation, described themselves as “thrilled” by the gift intended for funding health and education issues. The non-profit organisation works with donors to allocate their gifts.

In 2010, Zuckerberg pledged $100 million in Facebook stock to Newark, New Jersey, public schools before his company went public earlier this year.

Later, he joined Giving Pledge, an effort led by Microsoft Corp founder Bill Gates and Berkshire Hathaway Inc CEO Warren Buffett to get the country’s richest people to donate most of their wealth. His wife, Priscilla Chan, joined him.

IANS 2012-12-20 20:14:04