Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg is donating half a billion
dollars in Facebook stock to a Silicon Valley charity, his second major
donation since committing to giving away most of his wealth.
The
28-year old co-founder of the world's largest online social network said
in a Facebook post on Tuesday that he would work with the Silicon
Valley Community Foundation to "look for areas in education and health
to focus on."
Zuckerberg, whose stake in vested Facebook shares is
worth roughly $11 billion, announced plans in 2010 to give a $100
million gift to the beleaguered public schools of Newark, New Jersey.
The
gifts are part of Zuckerberg's involvement in The Giving Pledge.
Launched by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett in
2010, the group asks U.S. billionaires to give away at least half their
wealth during their lifetime or after their death and to publicly state
their intention with a letter explaining their decision.
Zuckerberg
said on Tuesday that he made a contribution 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.
Zuckerberg
founded Facebook in his Harvard dorm room in 2004, turning it into the
world's most popular online social network with roughly 1 billion users.
With its high-profile initial public offering in May, Facebook became
the first U.S. technology company to debut with a $100 billion-plus
valuation, though questions about its long-term money-making prospects
have pressured share prices.
© Thomson Reuters 2012