Dear Mark Zuckerberg, please keep your shares

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife just had a baby and Zuckerberg has decided to give away 99 per cent of his Facebook shares, valued at $45 billion, to charity in honour of the birth of his first child. The initiative is aimed at “advancing human potential and promoting equality for all children in the next generation through personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities,” according to a statement from the couple. While I commend Zuckerberg’s noble gesture, seeing as I’m always advocating for rich folks to “spread” their wealth, I don’t think giving everything away is prudent either. Who knows what will happen five or 10 years from now? What if his baby girl needs the money for education, health or some massive venture of her own at a later date? Unless the Zuckerbergs have already put aside a sizeable fortune for their little one, which they probably have, but still, I don’t think he should give it all away. If my dad were as rich, I would expect a decent inheritance and I would also expect him to consult me and my siblings before giving “our” money away. Technically, it would be his money and he would have every right to spend it as he wished but then again, blood is thicker than charity, right? Parents are supposed to take care of their children and that means providing not just moral but material support as well and so in my opinion, kids should be involved in discussions on what and how much should be given away. Baby Zuckerberg is too young to give her honest opinion on this serious matter and that’s why her parents should have waited. And no offense Mark but $45 billion is a drop in the ocean when it comes to what must be done to make the world a better place for all children around the world. There are so many problems that sadly, that money is not going to solve: Floods, famine, terrorist attacks, diseases like Malaria and HIV… But like I mentioned earlier, we appreciate Zuckerberg’s generosity. His effort is certainly more commendable than say, the Saudi King, Salman bin Abdulaziz who in September booked all 222 rooms of The Four Seasons in Washington DC for a three-day state visit. Suites at the hotel cost over $2,000 a night and during his stay, the hotel was reportedly furnished with the priciest trimmings including mirrors, tables, lamps and hat racks, all made of gold. Red carpets were also laid out nearly everywhere and his entourage rode in Cadillac SUVs when millions of Syrian refugees are stuck in camps and that money could have been better spent getting some of them decent housing. A month earlier, the same man had vacationed at the French Riviera with 1,000 other privileged individuals, most likely his friends and relatives and they had again booked the entire resort. Zuckerberg is also better than billionaires who spend millions on art pieces or diamonds when many miners who dig up those gems can’t even afford two meals a day.

Lifestyle

Dear Mark Zuckerberg, please keep your shares