- Billionaire couple Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg recently opened up about their personal lives and work-life balance in an interview with CBS
Recently, billionaire couple Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg opened up their home to “CBS This Morning” co-host Gayle King. And during the interview, the couple revealed that they teach their daughters values by having them do chores.
And they also discussed their work-life balance while raising their daughters Max (4-year-old) and August (2-year-old). The couple originally met while in line for the bathroom at a party at Harvard.
When King asked the couple how they keep their kids grounded even though they can be given anything materially.
“Well, I think first of all, we don’t give them everything. So I think that that’s an important piece. But they also just have responsibilities,” said Zuckerberg. “They have chores.”
Chan also told King that they take their kids to work to see what they do and how they contribute.
Together Chan and Zuckerberg run a philanthropic organization called the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI). And King asked them how do they not bring work home as they work together and live together.
“I mean, work comes home,” Chan explained. “We care deeply about our work. And so we don’t leave it at the door. But we are super careful about… thinking about… ‘Is this the moment to talk about it?’”
However, they made it a rule to not talk about work during their weekly date night. Zuckerberg was the one who originally came up with the idea for date night.
Chan also acknowledged that it can be difficult to emotionally manage Zuckerberg’s role as the head of Facebook. “The way your gut feels when your best friend comes home, and it’s like… ‘Hard day. Not sure what needs to come next.’” commented Chan.
Together Chan and Zuckerberg have a goal of curing diseases through the CZI. Launched four years ago, CZI has a goal of eliminating all diseases, driving education, and improving criminal justice.
“Setting audacious goals is important,” noted Chan in the interview. “We need to think about beyond what’s possible.”
The CZI is planning to map every cell in the human body for researching ways to eliminate disease. And the billionaire couple have committed to give away 99% of their Facebook shares over their lifetime to solve complex problems.
In the organization’s annual letter, CZI also announced several new hires including Director of Science Policy Tania Simoncelli (partnered with Brian Wallach to battle ALS), Director of Housing Affordability Caitlyn Fox (partnered with San Francisco Foundation CEO Fred Blackwell to invest over $500 million to preserve affordable housing in the Bay Area), Data Scientist Thomas Curran (partnered with T.L.P. Executive Director Andrew Goldin to tailor education curriculums to meet the needs of children), and CZI Community manager Dominique Turrentine (partnered with mental health services coordinator Divier Wallace)
Here is a portion of the video interview:
