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We are just a few days away from Christmas holidays. Everybody is busy in buying and giving gifts. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is no different. Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, has donated nearly $500 million in stock to a Silicon Valley charity as a Christmas gift. This is the largest donation of Mark Zuckerberg to date.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is in the holiday-giving mood. Last Tuesday (December 18), Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement posted on his Facebook page that he and his wife Priscilla Chan had donated 18 million of his shares in Facebook that was valued at $498.8 million ($498,780,000) to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a non-profit organization that works with donors to allocate funds according to their interests. But why Mark Zuckerberg suddenly gifted such big amount as a gift?

Well, two years ago, Zuckerberg and Priscilla signed the The Giving Pledge and promised that they would donate the majority of the money they earn to the charity. The Giving Pledge is an effort led by Warren Buffett and Bill Gates to encourage billionaires to donate most of their wealth to philanthropic causes. Zuckerberg wants his donated money should be invested in promoting education and health initiatives.

This is not the first time Zuckerberg has donated such a big amount. In 2010, Zuckerberg donated $100 million in an effort to improve public education in Newark, New Jersey. But the $498,780,000 donation to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation is the largest donation by Mark Zuckerberg to date, which also breaks the largest single philanthropic donation to education this year. By Wednesday morning, Zuckerberg’s Facebook post about the gift had recorded over 190,000 likes.

Emmett Carson, CEO of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, said in a statement, “Mark’s generous gift will change lives and inspire others in Silicon Valley and around the globe to give back and make the world a better place. We are pleased and honored that he has chosen to continue to partner with us to help him achieve his philanthropic goals.”

Source: Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook Page)

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