Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Builds Political Muscle for Philanthropic Work

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have vowed to put their enormous wealth toward philanthropic causes. Now the couple are putting infrastructure in place to make sure their money and efforts will make an impact on policy as well.

Zuckerberg and Chan have hired a top political operative to lead the next phase of their philanthropic work at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the limited liability company they set up in 2015 to conduct charitable efforts. David Plouffe, who managed Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign and is chief adviser and a board member at Uber, is leaving the ride-hailing company to join the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative as president of policy and advocacy.