14 DAY TRIAL // Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg joins a growing number of billionaires pledging to give away most of their fortune to charity. The "Giving Pledge" asks wealthy individuals to pledge to donate most of their money either during their life or after their death.
Zuckerberg, who is 26 at the moment, is one of the youngest persons on the list. Of course, he is one of the world's youngest billionaires, the other being Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, who also joined the Giving Pledge.
The Giving Pledge is a movement created by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and investor Warren Buffett. Those who sign it are making a promise to leave their fortune to charity, however it is not an obligation.
The donations of the individuals who signed the Giving Pledge are not tracked, so signing it is purely a matter of personal choice and requires no commitment. However, it wouldn't look very good to sign it and then not live up to the promise.
Zuckerberg is one of 16 new billionaires to join the Giving Pledge, the Wall Street Journal reports. A total of more than 50 people have signed it. Also new on the list is another Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, ex-AOL CEO Steve Case and investor Carl Icahn.
They join some of the biggest names in technology and business. Except the aforementioned, Bill Gates and Waren Buffet, people such as Oracle founder Larry Ellison and film director George Lucas have signed the pledge.
Zuckerberg hasn't commented on the move, but has said previously that rich folks should not wait until they're old to start giving. In fact, he recently made a very generous donation of $100 million to the Newark school system.
Zuckerberg's wealth comes from his 24 percent stake in Facebook, a private company, so it is purely speculative at this point. Once Facebook goes public, its worth may increase or decrease.