Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg defends decision to not donate his immense wealth to a registered charity
Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has jumped to the defence of his most recent philanthropic venture amid criticism.
Zuckerberg, who earlier this week pledged 99 per cent of his Facebook shares to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative upon the birth of his daughter Max earlier this week was forced to defend his option not to contribute the money to a charitable organisation.
Addressing accusations of tax avoidance, Zuckerberg posted on Facebook: "The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is structured as an LLC rather than a traditional foundation.
"This enables us to pursue our mission by funding non-profit organizations, making private investments and participating in policy debates."
If he donated his shares to a registered charity, said organisation would be incapable of investing in certain research initiatives – which would hamper his goal of investing in “advancing human potential and promoting equality”.
I want to thank you all for your heartwarming congratulations on Max's birth and on starting the Chan Zuckerberg...
Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday, 3 December 2015