Mark Zuckerberg Is Giving Away 99% Of His Facebook Shares

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has announced the birth of his first daughter with the news he will give away 99 per cent of his shares in Facebook.

Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan announced the arrival of their daughter, named Max, on Facebook this morning.

The shares he will give away are currently worth about $45 billion.

"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."

The letter the couple wrote, posted to Facebook, said they hoped their daughter's generation would advance human potential and promote equality.

"We are committed to doing our small part to help create this world for all children. We will give 99 per cent of our Facebook shares - currently about $45 billion - during our lives to join many others in improving this world for the next generation."

Zuckerberg did not specify where the money would go, but said the shares would be given away over his lifetime.

The news came the same week Zuckerberg and Chan announced they would join Bill Gates in launching the Breakthrough Energy Coalition to invest in new clean energy technology.

Read his full letter to his daughter below:

NZ Herald