Inside A Billionaire Couple’s Plan To Give Away A $20 Billion Facebook Fortune

Key Concepts

• Effective Altruism: A philosophy and social movement that uses evidence and reason to identify the most effective ways to help others, focusing on both short-term, cost-effective solutions and long-term, potentially catastrophic risks.
• AI Safety: The field dedicated to ensuring that artificial intelligence systems are developed and deployed in a way that is beneficial to humanity and avoids unintended negative consequences.
• Philanthropy: The practice of donating money and time to charitable causes.
• Good Ventures Foundation: The private foundation established by Cari Tuna and Dustin Moskovitz to manage and distribute their philanthropic giving.
• Open Philanthropy (now Coefficient Giving): An organization spun out of GiveWell, which advises on and manages charitable donations for maximum impact, aiming to be a multi-donor effort.
• Cost-Effectiveness: A metric used in philanthropy to measure the impact of a donation relative to its cost, prioritizing interventions that achieve the most good per dollar spent.
• Donor Advised Funds (DAFs): A charitable giving vehicle that allows donors to contribute assets to a fund and then recommend grants from that fund to qualified charities over time.

Billionaire Philanthropy: Cari Tuna and Dustin Moskovitz's $20 Billion Plan

This report details the philanthropic strategy of Cari Tuna and Dustin Moskovitz, co-founders of Facebook, who plan to give away a significant portion of their estimated $20 billion fortune. Their approach is deeply rooted in the principles of effective altruism, emphasizing evidence-based decision-making and a focus on both immediate global health needs and long-term existential risks, particularly those posed by artificial intelligence (AI).

Focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety

Cari Tuna draws a parallel between the development of AI and nuclear energy, suggesting that early, thoughtful regulation could have fostered innovation while mitigating risks. She posits that philanthropy can play a crucial role in this regard.

• Early Investments: The couple's commitment to AI safety began over a decade ago with a $1 million donation to the Future of Life Institute to address AI risks. In 2017, they contributed $30 million to OpenAI's nonprofit arm through their foundation. Dustin Moskovitz also invested in Anthropic's $124 million funding round in 2021.
• Commitment to Safety: At the time of these investments, both OpenAI and Anthropic were founded on effective altruist principles with a stated goal of creating AI models that benefit all of humanity and prioritize safety.
• Disassociation from Financial Gain: To avoid any perception of conflict of interest, neither Tuna nor Moskovitz, nor their foundation, own a stake in OpenAI. Their estimated $500 million stake in Anthropic was transferred to a nonprofit vehicle in early 2025, allowing any significant financial returns to be reinvested into philanthropy.

Embracing Effective Altruism

While Cari Tuna prefers to "emphasize the ideas over the label," the couple's philanthropic endeavors are strongly influenced by effective altruism. This movement, despite facing scrutiny due to its association with Sam Bankman-Fried, advocates for using evidence and reason to identify the most impactful ways to help others. It prioritizes both proven, cost-effective short-term solutions and the mitigation of long-term, potentially catastrophic risks like AI.

Broad Philanthropic Scope Beyond AI

The couple's evidence-based giving extends beyond AI to address critical global health issues.

• Largest Share to Global Health: The most substantial portion of their giving to date has been directed towards cost-effective global health interventions.
• Key Interventions: These include initiatives targeting malaria, vitamin A deficiency, and access to clean water.
• Urgency Amidst Funding Cuts: These efforts have gained increased urgency due to perceived cuts in US foreign aid under the Trump administration.

Scale of Giving and Operational Structure

Tuna and Moskovitz are committed to distributing the vast majority of their fortune as quickly as possible, a goal that is challenging as their wealth continues to grow.

• Total Donations: They have already donated over $4 billion, with more than $600 million disbursed in fiscal year 2025 alone.
• Assets Allocated: They have an additional $1 billion in Moskovitz's personal fortune, approximately $10 billion within their private foundation, the Good Ventures Foundation, and further assets in donor-advised funds.
• Tuna's Leadership: While Moskovitz built his wealth through ventures like Asana, Cari Tuna has been the driving force behind their philanthropy since 2011.
• Role of Open Philanthropy (Coefficient Giving): The majority of their giving is channeled through the Good Ventures Foundation and donor-advised funds. Open Philanthropy, which Tuna established in 2017 and chairs, plays a pivotal role in recommending grants.
• Rebranding to Coefficient Giving: Open Philanthropy is rebranding as Coefficient Giving to emphasize its evolution into a multi-donor platform designed to maximize the impact of charitable donations. The name "Coefficient" signifies its role in multiplying the value of paired donations, and "Co" highlights its multi-donor nature.
• Attracting Other Donors: Coefficient Giving has attracted significant commitments from other billionaires, including over $200 million in initiatives this year from individuals like Stripe co-founder Patrick Collison and Lucy Southworth, wife of Google co-founder Larry Page. These contributions have helped seed two major funds: the Lead Exposure Action Fund (LEAF) and the Abundance and Growth Fund.

Conclusion

Cari Tuna and Dustin Moskovitz are implementing a highly strategic and evidence-driven philanthropic model, leveraging effective altruism principles to address both immediate global needs and long-term existential risks. Their commitment to transparency, cost-effectiveness, and attracting broader donor participation through Coefficient Giving signals a significant shift in how large-scale philanthropy can operate to achieve maximum impact. Their focus on AI safety, coupled with substantial investments in global health, demonstrates a dual approach to improving the world's present and safeguarding its future.