Mark Zuckerberg’s net worth soared to 79 billion euros in 2024, but he has come under heavy criticism after announcing the forthcoming closure of The Primary School, an educational project founded to support children from disadvantaged backgrounds. The decision is all the more controversial given that the school represented a model of hope for many families.
An ambitious project driven by philanthropy
The Primary School, founded in 2016 by Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, was intended to offer a holistic approach to education by combining teaching, healthcare and social support, all in a single facility aimed at the city’s poorest children. The project, based in California, was largely funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), which injected around $100 million between 2018 and 2024.
Despite this substantial philanthropic support, the school has never managed to become financially self-sufficient or attract other public or private backing. According to Jean-Claude Brizard, chairman of the school’s board of directors, the project was unable to demonstrate enough tangible results to convince new backers. He even called for a thorough rethink: “If a project relies 100%, or even 50%, on sponsorship, it’s not viable in the long term.”
Closure announced, but no official explanation
The news came in April 2025: The Primary School will close its doors for good in 2026. No official reason has been given, but numerous sources, including The New York Times, claim that the CZI has ended its funding, leading to a budget impasse. The drop in donations, from $8 million in 2022 to $3.7 million in 2023, has made the school’s operation simply unsustainable. The decision sent shockwaves through parents and the local community, with some not hesitating to point out the irony of such a closure: “He’s a billionaire. Why would he want to close a school for poor children?”
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has explained that it intends to redirect its efforts towards scientific research and artificial intelligence. A strategic choice that many observers link to the current climate in the United States, where philanthropic priorities seem to be shifting away from community actions in favor of more technological and potentially more lucrative sectors in terms of media and economic spin-offs.
The closure of The Primary School illustrates the limits of ultra-centralized philanthropy: a model that depends almost exclusively on a single donor can hardly guarantee long-term stability. For the families concerned, this school represented much more than a place of learning, it was a symbol of equal opportunity. At a time when Mark Zuckerberg’s fortune stands at over $200 billion, the end of this project raises a troubling question: is the social commitment of the world’s rich as sustainable as their wealth?
