Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerber and his wife Priscilla Chan are giving $25 million to fight Ebola. They are making the donation to the Centers for Disease Control Foundation (CDC), according to his Facebook post. Some people wondered why Zuckerberg felt the need to contribute, since the CDC is well-funded. One commenter specifically points out that the “U.S. has a GDP of $17 trillion” and asks Zuckerberg “Why should YOU have to put in $25MM???”
Zuckerberg gave an answer that was equal parts philanthropist and entrepreneur. Like an entrepreneur he recognizes the timing and opportunity: “One problem right now is that most people — including government leaders — don’t realize we’re at such a critical turning point.” Like a philanthropist he writes: “I think we have a responsibility to help out wherever we see a need.” And then back to the financially prudent entrepreneur: “Spending $25 million to help get this under control now is very little cost compared to all the lives it could save and all the billions of dollars of costs we’d have to spend fighting the disease if it spread much further.”
