The Chan Zuckerbergs (Mark and Priscilla, aka Mr and Mrs Facebook) have just given you and me - and the other 7 billion people on planet earth - the biggest and hands-down best Christmas present.
Nothing gives you pause quite like bringing a new human into the world to realize how crummy it can be. Poverty, inequality... How do we reconcile these things with the pure beauty of the newborn in our arms? We can't.
Following the recent birth of his daughter, the social media site's founder has now founded a charity called the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which will solely be devoted to bettering this world of ours.
But few people aside from Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Oprah are in a real position to "change the world" (or even utter those silly words) in any meaningful kind of way. Mark Zuckerberg is, though, and he's committed to giving 99% of Facebook shares to that cause.
That's an estimated $45bn, and something like $3bn as early as 2018. I know, my head hurts, too.
Zuckerberg, aptly, announced the plan on his Facebook page in the form an incredibly touching letter to his daughter, Max:
Priscilla and I are so happy to welcome our daughter Max into this world!For her birth, we wrote a letter to her about...
Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday, December 1, 2015
"Your mother and I don’t yet have the words to describe the hope you give us for the future ... Like all parents, we want you to grow up in a world better than ours today," he wrote.
"We will do our part to make [the world better], not only because we love you, but also because we have a moral responsibility to all children in the next generation."
As far as philanthropic gestures go, this is as good as it gets.
It's hoped the motion will spur the wealthy elite not just to give, but to give in an epic fashion. Even a hardened cynic like me has nothing but wonder and awe at this news.
Merry future, everyone!
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