Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to sell shares for charity efforts

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has said he will sell a large number of his company's shares that could raise upto US$ 12 billion that he intends to use to fund philanthropic efforts in health and education.

Zuckerberg said he plans to sell 35 million to 75 million shares - worth up to US$ 12 billion at current prices - over the next 18 months for philanthropy. He said because Facebook is now so valuable, he can sell a smaller allotment of his stake in the company to contribute capital to his charity initiatives to help eradicate diseases and provide education to all children. "Over the past year-and-a-half, Facebook's business has performed well and the value of our stock has grown to the point that I can fully fund our philanthropy and retain voting control of Facebook for 20 years or more," Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post.