£2billion Facebook giveaway: At just 26, site founder pledges to donate half of his wealth to charity

At the age of 26, he is already one of the richest men in the world.

Now Mark Zuckerberg is to become one of the most generous, after vowing to donate half his £4.4billion fortune to charity.

The Facebook founder has signed The Giving Pledge, a commitment by dozens of American billionaires to give away at least 50 per cent of their wealth.

The brainchild of Microsoft’s Bill Gates and investment guru Warren Buffett, the scheme aims to encourage a wave of philanthropy among the super-rich.

Fifty-seven dollar billionaires have signed up and Zuckerberg, who set up his networking site in 2004, was among the latest 17 to take the pledge yesterday.

Even though most of his cash is still tied up in his company, he is keen to start giving at a younger age than usual.

‘People wait until late in their career to give back. But why wait when there is so much to be done?’ he said.

‘With a generation of younger folks who have thrived on the success of their companies, there is a big opportunity for many of us to give back earlier in our lifetime and see the impact of our philanthropic efforts.’

Mr Zuckerberg has seen his wealth rocket and, according to the latest rankings from Forbes magazine, it has more than trebled this year alone.

At 35th on the Forbes list of richest Americans, he is wealthier than Apple founder Steve Jobs, Star Wars director George Lucas and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.

He joins AOL co-founder Steve Case, former junk bond trader Michael Milken and Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz as a new entrant to The Giving Pledge.

‘I’m delighted to welcome these 17 families into the Giving Pledge community,’ said Mr Buffett, who is giving away 99 per cent of his £30billion fortune.

‘The Giving Pledge has re-energised people thinking about philanthropy and doing things in philanthropy and I look forward to many more conversations with families who are truly fortunate, and whose generosity can and will change lives.’

Mr Zuckerberg has seen his wealth rocket and, according to the latest rankings from Forbes magazine, it has more than trebled this year alone.

At 35th on the Forbes list of richest Americans, he is wealthier than Apple founder Steve Jobs, Star Wars director George Lucas and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.

He joins AOL co-founder Steve Case, former junk bond trader Michael Milken and Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz as a new entrant to The Giving Pledge.

‘I’m delighted to welcome these 17 families into the Giving Pledge community,’ said Mr Buffett, who is giving away 99 per cent of his £30billion fortune.

‘The Giving Pledge has re-energised people thinking about philanthropy and doing things in philanthropy and I look forward to many more conversations with families who are truly fortunate, and whose generosity can and will change lives.’