Facebook's Zuckerberg to Give Away Half of His Fortune

On the heels of his $100 million charitable donation to the Newark, New Jersey, public school system in September, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is making a pledge to give away a slightly larger portion of his substantial wealth.

Zuckerberg, along with fellow Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, have joined 14 other American billionaires in promising to give away at least half of their wealth, reports the Wall Street Journal.

The move comes as part of the so-called "Giving Pledge," an effort started by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Omaha investor Warren Buffett that encourages its signatories to make a public commitment to giving away the majority of their wealth. The movement is borne out of Buffett's idea that dynastic wealth is often wasted and should instead be devoted to philanthropic ends.

"People wait until late in their career to give back. But why wait when there is so much to be done?" Zuckerberg said in a statement.

"With a generation of younger folks who have thrived on the success of their companies, there is a big opportunity for many of us to give back earlier in our lifetime and see the impact of our philanthropic efforts," the statement continued.

Other new names include AOL co-founder Steve Case, financier Carl Icahn and former junk-bond king Michael Milken. They join George Lucas, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Oracle founder Larry Ellison who all previously announced their intention to take part in the effort.

Selected Reading: Wall Street Journal, Newser, Reuters

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