Mark Zuckerberg pledged $4.1 billion to research - it's only a fraction of his wealth

  • 22/09/2016
(Reuters)
(Reuters)

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have pledged more than US$3 billion (NZ$4.1 billion) toward a plan to "cure, prevent or manage all disease within our children's lifetime".

Investments will include a bioscience research centre, plans for a microchip to diagnose diseases, continuous blood stream monitoring and a map of cell types in body.

Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates congratulated Dr Chan and Mr Zuckerberg on the plan at a press conference announcing the the donation.

In July, Mr Zuckerberg had a fortune of US$56.7 billion (NZ$77.4 billion), Forbes reported.

The US$3 billion pledge is therefore equivalent to 5.29 percent of his wealth.

That pales in comparison with Mr Gates, the United States' top giver in 2014 with US$1.5 billion of Microsoft stock donated to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In total Mr Gates is reported to have given at least US$28 billion (NZ$38 billion) to the foundation.

In 2016 his personal wealth was estimated to be at least US$81 billion (NZ$110 billion).

He has therefore donated about a third of his wealth so far. Mr and Mrs Gates have pledged to give 95 percent of their wealth to their foundation.

Reuters / Newshub.