Zuckerberg donates half a billion dollars to charity

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is following in the footsteps of tech philanthropist Bill Gates, donating half a billion dollars of shares to charity.

It is the 28-year-old entrepreneur's second big donation since he pledged two years ago that he would give away most of his wealth. Mr Zuckerberg, pictured, joined the Giving Pledge, a group founded by Mr Gates and billionaire investor Warren Buffett, which encourages America's mega-rich to donate at least half of their wealth.

Mr Zuckerberg announced his gift in a Facebook post, saying he and his wife Priscilla had, "in order to lay the foundation for new projects, made a contribution of 18 million Facebook shares to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation".