Mark Zuckerberg is the 2nd biggest charity donor according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy. The Facebook founder is only behind Warren Buffett, the legendary billionaire investor from Omaha.
Along with his wife Priscilla Chan, Zuckerberg has given roughly half a billion dollars ($498.8 million) to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation through 18 million Facebook shares. Born on May 14, 1984, the Harvard College dropout was named Time Person of the Year in 2010. His net worth is estimated around $12 billion.
The Silicon Valley Community Foundation issues grants for a host of causes in the San Francisco area. The foundation’s charitable causes range from programs to teach immigrants English, to groups providing food and shelter to the needy and funds for victims of the California wildfires.
Facebook, started in 2004 accepted only members from Harvard College. Due to its over-whelming popularity, other universities and high schools were added and on September 26, 2006, officially opened up for everyone over the age of 13 to join. At the end of last year, it had over a billion users. It held an initial public offering on May 17, 2012, negotiating a share price of $38 apiece, valuing the company at $104 billion, the largest valuation to date for a newly listed public company.
Zuckerberg was one of three from the tech industry in the philanthropy list’s top five. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen was fourth with $309 million and Google co-founder Sergey Brin and his wife Anne Wojcicki were fifth with $223 million in contributions.
Meanwhile Facebook is doing its bit to improve the world. Facebook recently has made it possible for its users to publicly declare their organ donor status and add a personal story about their decision. The move has the potential to help over 114,000 people in the US and millions abroad waiting for transplants, both by spreading knowledge about organ transplantation and providing an online record of registration.
“Medical experts believe that a broader awareness about organ donation could go a long way toward solving this crisis,” Zuckerberg wrote in a statement with Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg. “And we believe that by simply telling people that you’re an organ donor, the power of sharing and connection can play an important role.”
