Zuckerberg's huge pledge reflects a new era in philanthropy

Amir Pasic, dean of Indiana University's Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, drew parallels between these modern-day philanthropists and those from the earlier Gilded Age, roughly a century ago, when the Carnegie, Ford and Rockefeller families pioneered a new type of charitable foundation.

Pasic drew another parallel between the two Gilded Ages — in both eras, he said, income inequality was a glaring reality that seemed to accentuate the power and responsibilities of the super-rich.

Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, detailed their pledge on Tuesday, promising to commit 99 percent of their Facebook stockholdings to fighting disease, improving education and other causes.

According to Facebook, the new initiative will be organized as a limited liability company, rather than as a nonprofit foundation — potentially giving it leeway to do political lobbying.

In effect, said professor Ray Madoff of Boston College Law School, this means that the large-scale donors are able to tackle charitable initiatives under their own name with funds that might otherwise have financed government programs.

The biggest gainers, she said, have been donor-advised funds, which enable donors to make a charitable contribution, immediately receive a tax benefit, and then recommend grants from the fund at any time thereafter.

Pasic, the school's dean, said it will be interesting to see how the overall nonprofit sector in the U.S. fares as the new-generation philanthropists expand their reach.