Mark Zuckerberg writes an open letter to his newborn daughter

The Founder of Facebook has recently announced the birth of his daughter Max.

Published 2nd Dec 2015

The Founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg has recently announced the birth of his daughter Max, with wife Priscilla Chan.

The couple then made an announcement in an open letter which has surprised many. The letter was posted on Mark's Facebook page and has attracted over 161,000 shares and over 69,000 comments in 12 hours.

The letter says "Like all parents, we want you to grow up in a world better than ours today." It goes on to say how while there is so much wrong in the world now, in many ways it is getting better.

"Health is improving. Poverty is shrinking. Knowledge is growing. People are connecting."

However there is always more that can be done and they want to give their daughter and her generation the best start in life.

The proud new parents say that they will give away 99% of their Facebook shares (approx. $45 billion) which they know is "a small contribution compared to all the resources and talents of those already working on these issues." The shares will be donated to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative which will "seek to advance human potential and promote equality". Full details of when and how will be released in the coming weeks.

This letter has attracted some high profile comments such as Melinda Gates (Bill Gates wife) who said "Welcome to the world, Max! Bill Gates and I can’t wait to meet you. You are lucky to have such an amazing mom and dad."

And singer Shakira also commented saying, "Your commitment to making the world a better place than you found it, and to empowering everyone to help make that a reality through all the tools you’ve listed here" continuing, "Thanks to your generosity, many will have the keys to unlock all of that untapped potential that has been there all along, waiting to be discovered."

With the announcement of baby Max a video was posted on the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Facebook page of the couple talking about their hopes for their daughter (below).

(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)0; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk')); > A few weeks before Max’s birth, Priscilla and Mark took a morning to reflect and record their hopes for their daughter and all children of her generation.> > > Posted by on Tuesday, 1 December 2015