Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have welcomed their first child - a baby girl called Max - into the world,...
Facebook
founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have welcomed their
first child - a baby girl called Max - into the world, and used her
arrival to announce plans to give away most of their $45 billion
fortune.
The
Silicon Valley billionaire and his doctor wife shared the news of the
baby's birth in a Facebook post entitled, 'A letter to our daughter'.
Included
in the lengthy post was the couple's pledge to donate the vast majority
of their fortune to future generations. They will donate 99% of their
Facebook shares - currently valued at $45 billion - to the work of a new
charitable foundation, the letter claims.
That
would leave them with $450 million for themselves and their new child -
based on Facebook's current valuation, plus any other private wealth
held by the couple.
The
letter was accompanied with a picture of the proud new parents tenderly
holding their newborn wrapped in a Aden And Anais swaddle cloth covered
in cartoon caterpillars. The designer blankets are sold in $50
four-packs.
'Dear Max,'
the 2234 word post reads. 'Your mother and I don't yet have the words to
describe the hope you give us for the future. Your new life is full of
promise, and we hope you will be happy and healthy so you can explore it
fully. You've already given us a reason to reflect on the world we hope
you live in.'
The post did not reveal when little Max was born or her full name.
The
couple announced Priscilla's pregnancy on Facebook earlier this year -
acknowledging their long struggle with fertility issues and revealing
they had suffered several miscarriages before conceiving their healthy
little girl.
They used the open letter as an opportunity to describe 'the world we hope she grows up in'.
'Like
all parents, we want you to grow up in a world better than ours today,'
it says. 'While headlines often focus on what's wrong, in many ways the
world is getting better. Health is improving. Poverty is shrinking.
Knowledge is growing. People are connecting. Technological progress in
every field means your life should be dramatically better than ours
today.
'We
will do our part to make this happen, not only because we love you, but
also because we have a moral responsibility to all children in the next
generation.
'We
believe all lives have equal value, and that includes the many more
people who will live in future generations than live today. Our society
has an obligation to invest now to improve the lives of all those coming
into this world, not just those already here.'
ater in the letter, the couple outline how they intend to make such a difference.
'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,' the letter says. '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.
'We'll
share more details in the coming months once we settle into our new
family rhythm and return from our maternity and paternity leaves. We
understand you'll have many questions about why and how we're doing
this.'
Facebook's
Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, wrote in response: 'This is a
beautiful letter and an incredible commitment to future generations.'
Notoriously
private Zuckerberg, 31, has been more public with the pregnancy and
birth of his daughter than many would have previously expected.
The
CEO announced he would be taking two months paternity leave following
Max's birth and outlined a new proposal to give Facebook fathers the
option of four months leave on full pay.
He
said he made the 'personal decision' to take time off after reading
studies that show 'when working parents take time to be with their
newborns, outcomes are better for the children and families'.
Back
in August when they announced they were expecting their first child
they also revealed they had suffered several heartbreaking miscarriages
along the way.
In a candid Facebook post, the couple detailed the heartache and loneliness they had experienced as a result.
WELCOME MAX ZUCKERBERG: THE PERSONAL NOTES BY HER PARENTS
The
Zuckerbergs both shared personal messages welcoming baby Max into the
world as well as releasing their open letter detailing plans to give
away their fortune in her lifetime.
Mark Zuckerberg wrote: '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.'
'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.'
Priscilla Chan Zuckerberg
wrote: '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.'
'We
want to share one experience to start. We've been trying to have a
child for a couple of years and have had three miscarriages along the
way.'
'You
feel so hopeful when you learn you're going to have a child. You start
imagining who they'll become and dreaming of hopes for their future. You
start making plans, and then they're gone. It's a lonely experience,'
the couple said.
'Most
people don't discuss miscarriages because you worry your problems will
distance you or reflect upon you, as if you're defective or did
something to cause this. So you struggle on your own.
'In
today's open and connected world, discussing these issues doesn't
distance us; it brings us together. It creates understanding and
tolerance, and it gives us hope.
'When
we started talking to our friends, we realized how frequently this
happened -- that many people we knew had similar issues and that nearly
all had healthy children after all.
'We
hope that sharing our experience will give more people the same hope we
felt and will help more people feel comfortable sharing their stories
as well.'
In
Tuesday's letter Zuckerberg and Chan outline their plans to dedicate
much of their new charity's work to health research. The move is
unsurprising given Chan's training and work as a doctor in San Francisco
and shows the foundation is a labor of love between the pair. The
couple will also dedicate their fortune to education, 'promoting
equality, connecting people and building strong communities'.
'Today
we spend about 50 times more as a society treating people who are sick
than we invest in research so you won't get sick in the first place,'
the open letter explains.
'Medicine
has only been a real science for less than 100 years, and we've already
seen complete cures for some diseases and good progress for others. As
technology accelerates, we have a real shot at preventing, curing or
managing all or most of the rest in the next 100 years.
'Today,
most people die from five things -- heart disease, cancer, stroke,
neurodegenerative and infectious diseases -- and we can make faster
progress on these and other problems.
'Once
we recognize that your generation and your children's generation may
not have to suffer from disease, we collectively have a responsibility
to tilt our investments a bit more towards the future to make this
reality. Your mother and I want to do our part.
Great expectations: The couple have
vowed to use their riches to improve life for future generations
including their daughter Max
'Curing
disease will take time. Over short periods of five or ten years, it may
not seem like we're making much of a difference. But over the long
term, seeds planted now will grow, and one day, you or your children
will see what we can only imagine: a world without suffering from
disease.'
The
couple also revealed their dedication to San Francisco, pledging to
begin their investment in education there before expanding it to the
rest of the U.S.
Introducing
the letter both Zuckerberg and Chan, 30, shared personal messages about
the arrival of Max on their individual Facebook pages.
Zuckerberg wrote: '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.'
'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.'
Chan
wrote: '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.'
Zuckerberg and Chan met at a party in Harvard in Zuckerberg's sophomore year and began dating in 2003.
They married in his backyard in 2012 when Chan also celebrated her graduation from medical school.
Tuesday's
announcement was backed by a formal securities filing outlining that
Zuckerberg would give away no more than $1 billion in Facebook holdings
each year for the next three years. He also underlined his ongoing
dedication to Facebook, retaining his majority voting position for 'the
foreseeable future'.
Though
by far the biggest charitable pledge by the couple to date, they have
been involved in many philanthropic endeavors since Zuckerberg first
made his name and fortune.
They
have donated millions on work to improve education through the use of
technology and earlier this week Zuckerberg was revealed as a signatory
of the Breakthrough Energy Coalition founded by Bill Gates to coincide
with the Paris climate change summit of world leaders.
The
latest pledge puts the Zuckerbergs up there with America's most
generous philanthropists alongside the likes of Bill and Melinda Gates
who have given $30 billion to the work of their foundation and plan to
continue donating their private wealth
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