Priscilla Chan is a philanthropist, a physician, and the wife of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. In 2015, the couple founded the philanthropic limited liability company Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI); its charitable arm, the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation; and its political arm, Chan Zuckerberg Advocacy. ^{1 2}

Chan was born in Braintree, Massachusetts, to a low-income immigrant family of Chinese and Vietnamese descent. She graduated valedictorian from Quincy High School. She met Zuckerberg while the two attended Harvard University and she studied biology. Chan worked as an elementary school teacher after college and later graduated from the University of California, San Francisco with a medical degree. She works as a pediatrician. ^{3 2}

In 2025, Chan drew criticism from staffers at CZI for the group’s pullback from political advocacy; the closing of its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; her attendance at President Donald Trump’s second inauguration; and her shift towards supporting science-based giving. ⁴

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was announced on Facebook on December 1, 2015,  upon the birth of Chan and Zuckerberg’s first child. Over the course of their lifetimes, Zuckerberg and Chan have pledged to donate 99% of their Facebook stock, with an estimated value of $45 billion in 2015,⁵ and as of December 2020 an estimated value close to $100 billion. ⁶

As an LLC, the Initiative’s tax implications differ from standard nonprofits. Stock given to the Initiative will not result in tax credits and will remain under Zuckerberg and Chan’s control through their ownership of the Initiative. However, when they liquidate or contribute these shares for direct grants, they will be eligible for tax benefits. Additionally, by transferring their wealth in company shares to the Initiative, Zuckerberg and Chan can avoid paying estate taxes on their wealth in the future upon their deaths. On the other hand, the LLC will be liable for income or capital gains taxes on any successful investments into for-profit companies. ⁷

Chan and Zuckerberg are listed as “co-founders” of the Initiative, though they describe themselves as “co-CEOs.” Chan and Zuckerberg meet at least once per week to discuss the Initiative, but Chan runs the organization day-to-day. ⁸

The Initiative has given grants to numerous left-of-center and left-wing nonprofits related to expansionist immigration advocacy and increased leniency in criminal justice, including the National Immigration Forum, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, the American Immigration Council, the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, the Justice Action Center, the Civil Rights Corps, Common Justice, the Poverty and Race Research Action Council, the Tides Center, the Center for American Progress, the Niskanen Center, and NEO Philanthropy. ⁹

However, the Initiative has also contributed to a few right-of-center and libertarian organizations, including the American Conservative Union Foundation, Conservatives for Criminal Justice Reform, and the Cato Institute. ⁹

Since 2015, the Initiative has given almost $24 million to the FWD.us Education Fund, the charitable advocacy component of FWD.us, a left-of-center PAC founded by Zuckerberg in 2014 that supports liberal policies in immigration, criminal justice, and higher education spending. ¹⁰

In June 2025, Chan confirmed that CZI would increase its focus on biology and artificial intelligence, focusing its giving on science-based projects. ¹¹

Other Philanthropy

The Primary School

In 2016, Chan and education entrepreneur Meredith Liu founded the Primary School, a private non-profit elementary school and health services organization which caters to low-income families in Palo Alto and Hayward, California. ¹² The Primary School is funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. ⁸

In April 2025, the school, which decried the effects of systemic racism and poverty, announced its closure after CZI pulled funding for it. CZI announced that it was going to invest $50 million in the school’s surrounding communities over the next few years, donating to education savings plans for all Primary School students, as well as support for families transitioning to new districts. ¹³

Organ Donations

Chan is an advocate of increased organ donations. ¹⁴ In 2012, Mark Zuckerberg was inspired by Chan to implement a feature in Facebook allowing users to identify themselves as organ donors. ¹⁵

Curing Disease

In 2016, Chan stood on a stage beside Zuckerberg and asked, “Can we cure all diseases in our children’s lifetime?” and answered the question affirmatively. In 2020, she rededicated to the goal of “cure, prevent, or manage all diseases” by 2100 and called it a realistic goal. The philanthropy used to support the goal did not necessarily payoff immediately with a drug trial or vaccination drive but was seen as more of a long-term investment. ¹⁶

Hawaii Housing Donations

In November 2024, Chan and Zuckerberg made a $626,000 donation to support building affordable housing on Kaua’i through Permanently Affordable Living Hawaii. Chan and Zuckerberg have supported the group since 2022 through the Chan Zuckerberg Kaua’i Community Fund of the Hawai’i Community Foundation. ¹⁷

Politics

In a February 2019 interview, Chan stated that she had no intention to run for office. ¹⁸

Personal Views

In 2012, Chan had “No on Prop 8” listed among her interests on Facebook. California’s 2008 Proposition 8 was a state-wide ballot initiative which proposed ending state recognition of same-sex marriages. Prop 8 was passed, but subsequently ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge in 2010. ¹⁴

In June 2020, Chan and Mark Zuckerberg issued a joint post on Facebook condemning remarks made by President Donald Trump about protesters which they called “incendiary.” Their message was a response to an open letter signed by 140 scientists who have received funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative who urged Zuckerberg to implement stricter censorship measures on Facebook in response to President Trump’s alleged incitements to violence. ¹⁹

Political Donations

Chan has made FEC-reportable contributions to Democratic candidates, including U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Congressional candidate Sean Eldridge (D-NY), the husband of Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes. Sen. Booker, who led the initiative to reform Newark, New Jersey’s public school system with a $100 million donation from Zuckerberg, received the largest cumulative donation of $18,200 (though $7,800 was later returned). ²⁰

Since 2013, Chan has donated $55,000 to Meta Platforms, Inc. PAC, Meta’s PAC, a bipartisan PAC which historically donates slightly more to Republican candidates than Democrats. ^{21 22}

2020 Elections

In 2020, Chan and Zuckerberg donated $400 million to local election agencies and non-profits that focus on elections to combat potential election fraud and support the conversion of polling stations to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their donation matched the total amount spent by the US government on the matter. ²³ The left-of-center Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) received $250 million from Zuckerberg and Chan, the single largest donation. ²⁴

During the Democratic primaries, Chan and Zuckerberg separately emailed Mike Schmul, campaign manager for Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, with advice on personnel hiring for Buttigieg’s campaign. Two of their recommendations were hired. ²⁵

Second Trump Administration

Chan drew criticism from staffers from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative for attending President Donald Trump’s second inauguration and for allegedly abandoning liberal causes. After attending the inauguration, Chan addressed CZI staffers and asked them to stay optimistic about Trump’s presidency and to celebrate the peaceful transfer of power. CZI also ended its inspired diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) teams; ended some advocacy work; and reportedly pulled its funding for a school for low-income children inspired by the left-of-center notion of “systemic racism” in East Palo Alto, California. The staffers accused CZI of being focused on being bipartisan, having a uniquely empowered communications department that ensured that CZI’s work did not alienate conservatives, and being too scared to make headlines which reflected negatively on Mark Zuckerberg and Meta. The staffers claimed they joined CZI due to high salaries, the opportunity to work with luminaries in their fields, and the group’s promises to chart a better course for billionaire philanthropy. The staffers accused Chan of tending to cry when things got tough, which shutdown sensitive discussions around issues of race, and argue she was too constrained by Zuckerberg and his company. ⁴

Controversies

In October 2021, Mia King, who worked as a security employee for Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, sued the couple alleging racial and sexual discrimination. While the lawsuit did not allege that the couple themselves committed any acts of discrimination against King, the lawsuit named the couple in their capacity as employers for allowing the discrimination to happen. The couple claimed they investigated King’s allegations and found them to be unsubstantiated. The couple also claimed King first raised the allegations through her lawyers and with a substantial monetary demand. ²⁶

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22. “Browse Individual Contributions.” Federal Election Commission. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Priscilla%2BChan&contributor_state=CA
23. “Mark Zuckerberg donated $400 million to help local election offices during the pandemic.” Independent. November 11, 2020. Accessed December 7, 2020. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/mark-zuckerberg-donation-election-facebook-covid-b1721007.html.
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