The Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have pledged to give away 99 per cent of their shares in the social network company – worth about £30bn – to charity.
Announcing the birth of their first child, a girl called Max, the couple published a letter on Facebook announcing the donation, which will be made over the course of their lifetimes, and setting out the reasons for it.
They said the shares would go to a new charity called the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which will "join people across the world to advance human potential and promote equality for all children in the next generation".
The letter said the initial areas of focus would be "personalised learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities".
They said: "We know this is a small contribution compared to all the resources and talents of those already working on these issues. But we want to do what we can, working alongside many others."
They said they would share more details of their plans in the coming months.
The couple said they were making the donation because they felt a great responsibility to leave the world a better place for their daughter and all children.
