Simon Black – First things first: Congratulations to Mark Zuckerberg.

And no, not for the obvious. The Zuckerbergs are brand new parents. And while that’s exciting, it’s far from unique. New babies are born every second.

But what’s far from commonplace is that Mark Zuckerberg just screwed the US government out of billions of dollars of tax revenue.

Well played, Mark. Well played.

In an open letter to his newborn daughter, Mark and his wife explained how many problems are out there. War. Disease. Bigotry. Etc.

Like any parent, they want their child to grow up in a better world.

And they outlined their vision to make this happen, including taking risks and making long-term investments, building technology, and backing strong, independent leaders and visionaries.

This sounds conspicuously like the mission statement for any number of high-end Silicon Valley venture capital firms.

In a way, this is what the Zuckerbergs have created.

At the end of the letter, they pledge to contribute 99% of their Facebook shares, currently worth about $45 billion, to “advance this mission”.

The New York Times jumped on this immediately: “Mark Zuckerberg vows to donate 99% of his Facebook shares for charity.”

Incorrect. This isn’t charity. Continue reading →