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Zuckerberg donates 99% of shares in Facebook to charity

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lunatic59 said:
Hmmm, 99% of his wealth is $45bn, leaving him with $450,000,000.00 ... yeah, I could live on that. ;)

Kudos MZ!
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By the time he starts donating he could be worth $100B, so he will be left with only $1B, poor guy.
 
Yes he'll still be left with half a billion in wealth, but in these modern times of greed and opulence, I think this is a genuinely remarkable act of generosity. Plus I don't begrudge Mark Zuckerberg his fabulous financial rewards because he built that company up from nothing, based on his ideas, so it's well deserved.
 
Let's just do some simple wealth spending math. :D

Mr. Zuckerberg is now 31 so let's say he's got another 50 years in him. Let's also say that he's worth, after the donation, $500 million. Now he's not going to just keep that in his mattress, so let's say he's earning a conservative 5% on that. Assuming for the moment that he earns nothing else for the rest of his life, for him to break even at 81, he'll have to spend roughly $330,000.00 every day for the rest of his life.

To look at it another way, he could employ 2,000 people at a salary of $60,000 annually for the next 50 years.
 
I don't equate a foundation with giving to charity. He and his family will still control the money and still "hire" smart "connected" people to manage the money. Same as the Gates foundation, the Rockefeller's, or any other baron. Sorry, I see it as an accounting trick.
 
Well, for them to maintain any sort of legitimate foundation status they'll have to do *some* beneficial work, so even if it turns into one of those organizations where only 1% of the funds go to help, that's still a half a billion that wasn't there before. And, think of all the accountants and analysts he'll be employing. :)

I'm hoping the Zuckerberg Foundation at least has some resources set aside for Social Media Addiction Clinics. o_O
 
yeah.. I am also thinking there is some smoke and mirrors here.
it is truly a huge action.. but what does it really mean???

1. Great PR move.. he gets a huge public impression.. for a positive character... for future endorsements
2. Reduce his Tax liability
3. create a foundation.. to help LOOK for improvements in life...(what ever that means).
4. I am sure he and wife will control how that foundation works.. and all it's resources.
5. They will get paid a huge salary from it
6. the foundation will fund projects.. that they want.. that they own.. or that they can monetize on.

still.. I think it should do some good for the public too.
 
I've never been a Zuckerberg fan, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. I think Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have rubbed off on him. Even giving 99% of his FB stock away, (and remember, he has other assets besides stock) he will still have more money than he could ever spend. I don't think anyone could expect him to put himself into the poorhouse. Nobody's forcing him to give anything away. I say good for him.
 
So he's putting it into an LLC, not a private foundation.

What this means is that he doesn't get any tax deductions until the LLC donates the money to charity. I assume he'll own it jointly with his wife. Any income generated in the LLC(in this case, dividends and capital gains from the stock) will be taxed on his 1040 as if he didn't have the LLC. Anything he donates will be deducted on his personal return in the year he donates it. Keep in mind you are limited to a % of your AGI for charitable deductions. If you donate cash to a qualified 501(c)(3), you can deduct up to 50% of your AGI. If you donate appreciated stock(which most of his donations will be), you're limited to only 30% of your AGI. Furthermore, his income will certainly be high enough that his donations will be reduced by 3% of the amount his income exceeds ~300,000.

I've seen no shortage of people shouting on the internet about things they know nothing about.

If he doesn't follow through with his promise to donate, then yes, he abused our trust in terms of the PR generated...but he hasn't abused the tax code, he's still paying taxes, and he was never under any obligation to donate any money.
 
It's his money - whoever he wants to donate to is his choice. What upset a lot more people is the word or hint of lobbying, not donations.
 
The doubt is - he gets to pick and choose. He could choose a "politically incorrect" group to help, which annoys the in group or group think.

He could start a Political Action Committee that I don't approve of, but even if I don't approve, it's his money and his right.
 
I think some will get help depending. He donated 1 million to a NJ school district and it did nothing for the students. The donation was wasted.

Why:
http://www.cnbc.com/2014/05/23/where-zuckerbergs-100-million-gift-went-wrong-pros.html

Once bitten, twice shy. But no one with any clout wants to be told how to spend charity money. Around here, you call up or look up the amount of the donation that actually goes to the needy rather than the head honchos of the charity. You can also check on the distribution of funds - who gets what, like soup kitchens, homeless shelters, etc.

Even the Red Cross has come under fire for squandering.
https://www.propublica.org/article/...a-billion-dollars-for-haiti-and-built-6-homes
 
zuben el genub said:
I think some will get help depending. He donated 1 million to a NJ school district and it did nothing for the students. The donation was wasted.

Why:
http://www.cnbc.com/2014/05/23/where-zuckerbergs-100-million-gift-went-wrong-pros.html
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I think that example provides an illustration as to why it's better to have a foundation to provide an ongoing structure of donation/monitoring/accountability, instead of a one-time humongous cash dump.

I have no doubt there may be some personal satisfaction and financial benefits to Mr Z. with the foundation as well, but it seems to me the purpose of the foundation approach is to manage the massive amount of money to help it get to where/when it's really needed.
 
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