Zuckerberg hands over a billion to charity as Facebook ads zoom
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg is handing another $1 billion worth of stock to charity. The gift, going to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation,
Zuckerberg and Priscilla : Focus on health and education
is the latest installment of the 29-year-old Facebook boss’s pledge to spend more than half his wealth on philanthropy.
The donation is "by far the largest gift in our history," said Emmett Carson, CEO of the foundation, which will help Zuckerberg allocate the donated assets in coming years.
Carson would not tell Silicon Valley.com how the money will be used, but said: "We believe this gift will immensely improve the lives of people here and elsewhere."
Facebook announced the gift while revealing a stock offering in which the company will raise almost $1.5 billion in cash, selling 27 million new shares. Zuckerberg is also selling about $2.3 billion worth of his own shares, which the company said he'll use to cover taxes he'll owe after buying more Facebook stock.
After all the moves Zuckerberg will have slightly reduced his FB stake , said the website. He will control about 62.8 percent of the voting power down from 65.2 percent. He will own about 444.2 million shares, worth more than $24 billion on Thursday.
Last year he gave a similar-sized block of to the foundation , but the shares were worth only about $500 million at the time.
Facebook's booming advertising business has caused its stock to soar - and the value of that donation has more than doubled. The community foundation receives donations , makes direct grants to charities, and advises wealthy people on philanthropic giving. It also administers charitable funds on an individual's behalf.
The foundation helped oversee Zuck’s pledge of $100 million to improve public schools in Newark, N.J., which he announced in 2010. It also channeled his contribution to the multi-million-dollar series of "Breakthrough Prize" awards for math and science research, which Zuckerberg has funded jointly with tech names including Sergey Brin, Yuri Milner and Jack Ma, said Silicon Valley.com.
Zuckerberg has signed on to the "Giving Pledge" campaign, promoted by billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, in which wealthy individuals vow to give at least half their assets to philanthropy over the course of their lives.
Zuck and his wife, pediatrician Priscilla Chan, have said they are interested in causes related to education and health.
Facebook's stock has surged over the last year, as the company overcame early criticism that it was slow to catch on to the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets.
Its now thriving mobile ad business, which will bring the company $3 billion in revenue this year. This will make help make Facebook the second-biggest seller of online advertising in the United States, behind only Google. Facebook shares are now around $55.05.