Mark Zuckerberg Donates Half A Billion Dollars’ Worth Of Stock To Charity

Almost two years to the day since Mark Zuckerberg promised to give half of his wealth away to charitable causes, the Facebook founder has announced (on his Facebook page, natch) a donation that amounts to around half a billion dollars. The recipient is a Silicon Valley-based charity, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, which will receive 18 million shares in his social network, which floated earlier this year. Its value? A shade under $500 million.

Two years ago he kickstarted his philanthropy and gave $100 million to schools in Newark. Zuckerberg is a signatory of the Giving Pledge, which counts luminaries such as George Lucas, Michael Bloomberg and, of course, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.