December 2, 2015
Why is this a letter to a newborn child?
She can't read yet, and she can't answer, and it's saying we're giving away nearly all of the fortune that you might think (if you knew anything about anything) would be coming your way. What kind of letter is that? A taunt to an utterly helpless being. I mean, it's very nice to give the money to the world — we'll see what he's planning to buy (other than this instant PR) — but just tell the world straightforwardly. Don't use the body of a newborn babe as your political platform.
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39 comments:
Yuck Zuk.
I can't wait to read the letter she writes to him, once she's old enough to realize what he wrote.
As a rhetorical ploy, it's squirmworthy, but let's be clear. Nearly all the fortune?
We will give 99% of our Facebook shares -- currently about $45 billion -- during our lives to advance this mission.
That leaves $500 million, more or less. I think they'll get by.
We will give 99% of our Facebook shares -- currently about $45 billion -- during our lives to advance this mission. We know this is a small contribution compared to all the resources and talents of those already working on these issues. But we want to do what we can, working alongside many others."
We will and we did are two distinctly different things. Somehow the vows of poverty of a multi-billionaire who decides to become a centi-millionaire don't elicit admiration.
Poor kid, he's got fools for parents in the way super bright people can be super foolish.
$500 million and a lifetime of salaries and benefits. Remember that running his charity is the job Bill Gates gave all his relatives.
I have no problem with Z-C asserting this as a life mission. Part of being a parent is asserting higher values in parallel with defining material structure. This is just an extreme case.
But please don't cc the rest of us your letter about it.
I am now personally committing to give all of my disposable wealth in excess of $450,000,000 to charity.
You're welcome.
Why was this baby girl named Max?
Is this a boy named Sue thing?
Seems very mean and nasty to me.
Or maybe just a California thing. What's wrong with a name like Ann?
Virtue signaling, grandiose style.
" making sure everyone has access to these opportunities -- regardless of the nation, families or circumstances they are born into."
The problem is that it is not enough and it is becoming apparent to all the "people of color" who are rioting in college.
Equality of outcome is the only thing that might satisfy them, although I doubt even that would be enough.
Pretty soon, Farrakhan's answer will come to them.
Seems like your Jesus quote of your first comment, in the post above this one, seems more appropriate to this post.
"Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity!...."
The money is doing much more good wherever it is now.
Just hold onto the stock and spend nothing. That does the most good.
I never thought much of Zuckerberg. An idiot savant, apparently, so maybe it's not his fault, but he comes across as a total douchebag, every move he makes reeks of it. I'm not impressed with the tweaks he made to Friendster that he then called Facebook. He's been rewarded plenty handsomely, so enough with the hero worship. He's really done very little with his life.
""Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others"
Have you read "Magnificent Obsession?" It's actually about a real person. I've often wondered if there is a basis in fact.
I mean, it's very nice to give the money to the world
They're giving it to an LLC, which they will control. It's not even a nonprofit. They want you to know it will be for good and not for evil, though.
Bob R, thanks, man. You've inspired me to do the same. Maybe there are others. The world will be rich!
As Michael K said, it's just virtue signaling.
Of course, if Progs believed in the state as much as they profess, they would not establish foundations and such but leave their money to be taxed away for the greater good. By their actions, they show government doesn't know best and does not use resources to do the most good most efficiently.
By the way they will structure this transfer so as not to trigger a taxable event. I see this as a sneaky way to tell their daughter government is a poor allocator of resources without pissing off their liberal friends.
By the time this kid is 21, Facebook will be long obsolete and worthless.
Who writes an open letter to their kid? Moral imbeciles
We'll share more details in the coming months once we settle into our new family rhythm and return from our maternity and paternity leaves. We understand you'll have many questions about why and how we're doing this.
So they're going to settle in and the baby is going to start peppering them with questions about this fake letter? I doubt it.
Also, "Hey kid, we're only going to keep 450 million dollars." I'm sure their daughter will be all broken up but able to bravely bear the hardships of her parents unbridled philanthropy.
So what if he publicly gives away his money? I thought the letter to his daughter was sweet and yes she can't read it now, but one day she will. Such cynicism, sheesh. The man has done something most of us can't, he deserves a tremendous amount of credit.
His money, whatever... but really, what a douchebag. There is no room in his world view that his offspring could not perhaps do much more good, could envision doing much more good with that fortune than he can. Than strangers can.
in addition, as others have pointed out, this is stock. It is not a huge pile of gold coins piled in his basement (a la McDuck). It is paper promises for some fluctuating, agreed upon amount of money. That money that would be exchanged for the stock is currently spread all over the place doing what money does. His giving away his stock only changes who has an opportunity to convert that paper into actual money. Who is to say that any of the recipients would be any better stewards of that wealth than he or his offspring can or would be?
Also, narcissist much?
The idea (writing to your child) did produce Ta-Nehisi Coates a national book award.
I call bullshit. Pretentious, pontificating bull...shit.
Liberals will swoon.
F. Scott Fitzgerald! Thou shouldest be living at this hour: America has need of thee.
"The man has done something most of us can't, he deserves a tremendous amount of credit."
Facebook ? I agree that I can't dream up a useless time waster like Facebook. But "tremendous?"
Trump at least built buildings that people live in. Facebook is an app, for crissakes !
We live in an era when people who build things or who produce things, like oil, that are a public benefit, are demonized.
At least video games are harmless. I'm not sure Facebook is. I use it because my kids, for one thing, don't answer their cellphones. And to post family photos.
What a load. Poor kid. (And I note they assigned her a gender!)
The creepiest thing I have noticed about this generation, regardless of income status, is that a new child seems to be more about them, as if they are saying "look what I did" --that sense of wonder and thankfulness, and dare I say "gift from God" feelings are gone. Same with parenting, with the exception of breastfeeding, none of it seems instinctual, it is all quite programmatic, regimented, and always seems to be looking to/preparing for something else instead of that moment (if I force her (a one year old) to learn how to say ABCD today, I can post it on facebook!) it is usually motivated by the parent(s) insatiable need to portray a perfect life on Facebook, and rarely done for the child's genuine benefit.
Why the letter to a child?
Because when the child vomits while looking at it, they can blame it on gas.
My understanding is that Zuckerberg is saying that he’s going to give away stock (the price of which is worth about $45 billion today). If the value of that stock drops, will he still give away 99 percent of it or will he revise that figure downwards?
Jesus said:
"Watch out! Don’t write letters to your daughter and make them public, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give away 99% of your shares of Facebook, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing Trump and Hillary, Bernie and Barack, to call attention to their acts of political correctness! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you post photos on the internet, don’t dox your own children who are too young to give you their permission. Keep your letters to your children private, and your Father, who sees everything, even when your server connection is lost, will reward you."
They are probably going to make out a will now, so they would like to give an explanation, written at the same time as the will, as to why she's not getting 99% of their wealth. They don't know what can happen.
They could write separate letters, of course.
Is the girl's name actually Max, and not Maxine?
By the time this kid is 21, Facebook will be long obsolete and worthless.
Every three or four years some new platform comes along.
The probability of survival of a company is somewhat greater. AOL still exists, not to mention Apple, although it took the second coming of Steve Jobs to save it. Microsoft is still around.
If Facebook is not around, it'll probably be merged into something. Or it may have bought other businessess and changed its focus, and its name.
A lot of companies omce in the Dow Jones Industral average do not exist any more, but not too many went bankrupt (although some went bankrupt, but still exist.)
The probability of survival of a company is somewhat greater. AOL still exists, not to mention Apple, although it took the second coming of Steve Jobs to save it. Microsoft is still around.
Also required Microsoft bailing them out.
An open letter to his daughter, an oxymoron. If it is intended to be a letter to his daughter, then we shouldn't be reading. It's a federal offense to open other people's mail. If it meant to be read by everyone, then it is not a letter to his daughter, since she can't even read. It is a letter to us.
I'm sure it plays well within the mutual adoration society that is his A-list commenters.
"Technology can't solve problems by itself. Building a better world starts with building strong and healthy communities."
And Zuck is fairly sure that the best communities have a high proportion of cheap, indentured laborers. Christ. I can't figure out whether he is a complete idiot or just a raging hypocrite. I guess it isn't either/or. Anyway, if he is the 1%, I'm starting to think Bernie Sanders has a point.
I see other people online calling this touching and similar. So if you want your self-promotional PR to seem thoughtful, address it to your kid.
So the guy is going to give away billions of dollars and AA commenters are calling him an asshole for doing it?
You'll acting like a bunch of HuffPo jerk-offs.
Why is this a letter to a newborn child?
Because Zuckerberg is, as he has always been, a total horse's ass.
But in the end, he earned it. The baby didn't. Consequently he can do with it as he sees fit. Hell, he can give it all away and go live in cardboard box under a bridge; it's his right.
He has assets beyond his FB shares - cash and shared of other entities. That's clearly not on the table here.
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