American doctor and philanthropist Priscilla Chan is best known as the wife of Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. She and her husband, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, founded the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to advance health, education, and gender parity across the world. Chan, a native of Braintree, Massachusetts, met Zuckerberg during their time as undergraduates at Harvard. Mark was studying computer science and psychology, while she studied biology. She went on to study medicine at UC San Francisco after finishing undergrad. After four years, she completed medical school and started her pediatrics practice. To date, Chan and her husband have donated an estimated $1.6 billion. A total of 18 million Facebook shares were donated to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. The pair topped the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s list of the 50 most philanthropic Americans in 2013. She was also recently shortlisted for the third annual Visionary of the Year award presented by ‘The San Francisco Chronicle.
She co-founded the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a nonprofit organization focusing on education, health, and social justice. She is also the co-founder of The Primary School, a private school for low-income children in East Palo Alto, California.
Through her work with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Priscilla Chan has become one of the most prominent philanthropists in the world. She is also a vocal advocate for child welfare and education reform.
Philanthropic Activities
Priscilla Chan’s first job out of college was teaching science at Harker School in San Jose, California. She enrolled in medical school in 2008 and graduated in 2012. On May 19 of that year, one day after Facebook’s first public offering, she wed Mark Zuckerberg.
About $1.6 billion of Priscilla and her husband’s wealth will be donated to good causes. They gave $ 75,000,000 to the San Francisco General Hospital, where Chan had been employed. As of 2016, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative had raised over $1 billion from donors, with up to $1 billion coming from Facebook. The group’s mission is to improve the lives of people everywhere, but it does not have the tax-exempt status of a charity. Because it is a limited liability business, its members can use company funds for any legal purpose, including making political contributions and engaging in lobbying. Due to the organization’s legal setup, Zuckerberg retains ownership over the company’s shares of Facebook.
In September of 2016, the group revealed its new scientific initiative, dubbed Chan Zuckerberg Science. There will be a $3 billion investment over the next decade with the goal of curing or at least effectively managing all diseases and afflictions by the turn of the century. Biohub, located in San Francisco’s Mission Bay District and close to the University of California, San Francisco, will receive $600 million to facilitate communication and cooperation among the area’s academic researchers.
In 2016, Chan announced her intentions to open “The Primary School” as a philanthropic enterprise. K-12 and prenatal care services will be offered. She gave $50,000 to the Aloha Angels Endowned Fund in March 2017, alongside her husband Mark Zuckerberg.
In March of 2017, the ‘San Francisco Chronicle’ announced the finalists for their third annual Visionary of the Year Award, and among them was Chan. The purpose of the award is to recognize those who have made significant strides toward making the world a better place.
Priscilla Chan |
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Wiki Facts & About Data | |
Full Name: | Priscilla Chan |
Born: | 24 February 1985 (age 37 years old) |
Place of Birth: | Braintree, Massachusetts, United States |
Nationality: | American |
Height: | 1.65 m |
Parents: | Yvonne Chan, Dennis Chan |
Siblings: | Michelle Chan, Elaine Chan |
Husband • Spouse: | Mark Zuckerberg (m. 2012) |
Boyfriend • Partner: | N/A |
Children: | Maxima Chan Zuckerberg, August Chan Zuckerberg |
Occupation: | Philanthropist • Pediatrician |
Net Worth: | US$3 billion |
Early Life & Education
Priscilla Chan was born in the United States on February 24th, 1985, in Braintree, Massachusetts. She is of Chinese descent, but her nationality is American.
She was born to a businessman father, Dennis Chan, and a housewife mother, Yvonne Chan. Her parents were immigrants from Vietnam. Her parents fled Vietnam for the United States in a refugee boat. She has two sisters: Michelle Chan and Elaine Chan.
Growing up wasn’t easy for Priscilla Chan because she encountered some language barriers. She grew up speaking Cantonese. She is the oldest in a family of three. She has two other siblings who were also born in the United States. Her father runs a restaurant in Massachusetts; he used the money raised to train his children.
However, in 2006, he decided to sell the fish restaurant to another company. Among her peers, Priscilla Chana was considered a Brainiac. She graduated with good grades and was also the valedictorian of her class at Quincy High School.
In 2003, Priscilla Chan enrolled at Harvard University, where she eventually met Mark Zuckerberg. Afterward, she graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology.
Upon graduation, she taught science at the private Harker School for a year before entering medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, in 2008, where she finished her pediatrics residency in 2015.
Personal Life
While studying at Harvard University, Priscilla Chan met her husband, Mark Zuckerberg. They began dating afterward.
Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg got married on May 19th, 2012. On December 1st, 2015, the couple announced they were expecting their first daughter. Their first child was named Maxima Chan Zuckerberg.
Two years after the birth of Maxima Chan Zuckerberg, the couple welcomed their daughter on August 28th, 2017. They decided to name the child August Chan Zuckerberg for some reasons best known to them.
Career
In East Palo Alto, California, Priscilla Chan co-founded The Primary School in 2016, a nonprofit that would offer K–12 instruction and prenatal care. She also served as the school’s board chair.
About US$4.6 billion has been donated by Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan to charitable causes, including a US$75 million gift to Priscilla Chan‘s former employer, San Francisco General Hospital.
They handed the Silicon Valley Community Foundation US$18 million Facebook shares in 2013, totaling more than US$970 million. The couple was ranked first among the top 50 American donors during that year by The Chronicle of Philanthropy. They also promised to donate US$120 million to Bay Area Public schools.
Priscilla Chan is in charge of managing the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative‘s day-to-day activities. Education, healthcare, and research are three of her humanitarian goals, which are directly tied to her background.
She is believed to have a significant influence on her husband’s generosity. Priscilla Chan was one of six contenders for The San Francisco Chronicle’s third annual Visionary of the Year award in March 2017. The award honors those who employ innovative, inventive commercial techniques to promote change while working to improve the world.
Net Worth
She is a pediatrician and philanthropist. Priscilla Chan‘s accumulated net worth is estimated to be US$3 billion.
This makes her one of the wealthiest women in the world. Priscilla Chan has donated her wealth to various causes, including education and health care.
Social Media
- Instagram handle: @Chanzuckerberginitiative
- Twitter handle: Priscillachan4
- Facebook: Priscilla Chan