Washington Post Chairman Pledges His $46 Million Facebook Windfall to Charity

With Facebook's $5 billion IPO filing yesterday, today's news reports are filled with envy-inducing reports of how wealthy the social network has made a lucky few, including the already wealthy Donald Graham, chairman of the Washington Post Company.

With Facebook's $5 billion IPO filing yesterday, today's news reports are filled with envy-inducing reports of how wealthy the social network has made a lucky few, including the already wealthy Donald Graham, chairman of the Washington Post Company. He's not alone: there's that graffiti artist this New York Times report led with who was foresighted enough to ask to be paid in Facebook stock for painting the site's first headquarters. He gets $200 million. There's Mark Zuckerberg's dad, who gave a little bit initial capital off his dentist's salary to get his son's project off the ground. He gets $2 million.

As for Graham, known buddy of Zuckerberg, he told Forbes' Jeff Bercovici in a statement that he plans to donate his entire Facebook windfall of likely $46 million to charity. "I won’t sell any Facebook shares as long as I’m on the board," he writes. "When I leave, all my Facebook shares will be donated to two or three D.C. education-related charities I’ve supported over the years." Graham's promised generosity takes the edge of that subconscious resentment we feel toward supposed thousand millionaires the Facebook IPO will make. And we certainly commend Graham, but can't help but notice this as well: his Washington Post Company stock already puts his wealth at $500 million. At which point another $46 million isn't all that much more.