Wednesday, December 02, 2015

Mark Zuckerberg = Dad

There's no question about who the world's most famous baby is: Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, have welcomed their daughter into the world. According to a release from the company, Max Chan Zuckerberg was born early Thanksgiving week. She weighed 7 lbs, 8 ounces, and everyone is healthy. Move over George and Charlotte: There's a new Royal Baby in town.

But wait, there's more: The world's most famous new parents of the world's most famous baby posted a Facebook Note, entitled A letter to our daughter, in which they laid out their dreams for her - namely that she should grow up in a world better than ours today.

To underscore their hopes for the future, and to ensure they evolve beyond mere hopes, they announced the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, in which they will devote 99% of their currently-held Facebook stock - worth about $45 billion U.S. - toward advancing human potential and promoting equality.

The critics are already poking holes in the initiative - the money's being directed into their own foundation, the goals are too vague, etc. I guess it's easy to take remote potshots at the billionaire and his doc-wife as they become parents and set out to accomplish what all parents hope for: A strong foundation for the next generation. But at the end of the day, what matters is another generation-defining family is using its position, power and money to advance the state of the human race. Only the most cynical among us would fail to appreciate the humanity of such a commitment.

Welcome to the world, Max. May your parents' hopes for your future - and all parents' hopes for their own children - come true.

3 comments:

Kalei's Best Friend said...

I guess its hard for people to think that there are people like the Zuckerbergs who may very well be selfless/altruistic, that there isn't an ulterior motive... back in the day they may of been hippies or have the philosophy.. Nothing wrong in thinking past materialism.. The ones who think there may be a motive might be the ones who would have a motive other than selflessness if given the chance to give of themselves, and yes, it is a shame people always assume the worst.

Unknown said...

Carmi: Mark Zuckerberg makes success look almost effortless, as does Richard Branson at Virgin Group or Bill Gates at Microsoft. In today's world, it's harder than every to be successful. These three guys are all an enigma to me. Branson actually dictated a letter to me years ago, which was impressive. I'm not familiar with the criticism that has been mentioned. I only wish the new baby and her parents well! :)

Tabor said...

Being filthy rich is just as difficult as being poor if you want to make a difference in the world. They will make mistakes along the way, but I hope that their dreams come true.