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Following the birth of their daughter, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan have pledged to give away 99 percent of their Facebook shares to the family's newly-formed charity foundation.

Maxima Chan Zuckerberg was born last week, according to The New York Times. Facebook CEO Zuckerberg wrote a welcome letter to his daughter in which he mentioned the need to make the planet a better place for future generations. He wrote that the couple would be pitching in with 99 percent of their shares, currently valued at $ 45 billion, through the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation.

"We will give 99% of our Facebook shares -- currently about $45 billion -- during our lives to advance this mission. We know this is a small contribution compared to all the resources and talents of those already working on these issues. But we want to do what we can, working alongside many others," Zuckerberg mentioned in the Facebook post.

The pledge is one of the largest ever made and drew appreciation from several noted people including Melinda Gates and Shakira. The letter attracted more than 1.1 million likes. The commitment also turned heads as Zuckerberg and Chan are among the youngest billionaires to have pledged their wealth.

"Our lists of the top donors are usually dominated by people in their 70s or 80s. This is a message to other young people who are deciding what to do with their great wealth," Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy told Reuters.