To Celebrate Their Daughter's Birth, Mark Zuckerberg And Priscilla Chan Just Casually Donated $US45 Billion To Charity

Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan have promised to donate 99 per cent of their Faceboook fortune to charity, in celebration of the arrival of their daughter Max.

(Side note: Nice gender-neutral baby name! 2015 is the year for it.)

So, how much does 99 per cent amount to, when we’re talking about the fortune of Facebook’s very founder?

Oh, about $US45 billion ($A61.4 billion).

The donation will be made to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative over the course of their lives.

In a post to Facebook (obviously), Zuckerberg explained his reasoning behind the donation.

“For [Max’s] birth, we wrote a letter to her about the world we hope she grows up in,” he begins.

“It's a world where our generation can advance human potential and promote equality -- by curing disease, personalising learning, harnessing clean energy, connecting people, building strong communities, reducing poverty, providing equal rights and spreading understanding across nations.”

On January 1, Facebook will extend its parental leave policy to all full-time employees outside of the United States. It gives new parents, no matter their gender or location, four months off, fully paid.