Zuckerberg sells US$95m in Facebook shares for philanthropy

[SAN FRANCISCO] Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has made his first big share sale to fund his family's philanthropic initiative.

The sale of more than 760,000 shares of Facebook stock, valued at about US$95 million, was made by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Holdings and the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation, according to a regulatory filing Friday.

It will be the first of many sales in Mr Zuckerberg's plan to fund solutions for problems in health, science and education. After the birth of his daughter Maixma, Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan pledged to give away 99 per cent of their wealth during their lifetime.

At the time, the December pledge was worth about US$45 billion. Since then, Facebook stock has gained more than 15 per cent.

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