CHICAGO — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg just announced on the Oprah Winfrey show that the title of a program to pump $100 million into the Newark school system is the "Start Up Education Foundation."
"Every child deserves a great education and right now that's not happening," Zuckerberg said to a standing ovation. When asked why he chose Newark, Zuckerberg said, "Newark is really just 'cause I believe in these guys," referring to Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Gov. Chris Christie.
U.S. Education Commissioner Arne Duncan from satellite said "I'm really proud of these guys," adding that the dropout rate in Newark is "morally, economically unacceptable," and complimented everyone on stage. Duncan and Winfrey both extolled the bipartisan co-operation exhibited by Christie and Booker.
Winfrey said that Booker called her last week and told her that Zuckerberg "wanted it to be anonymous," referring to the grant.
"We talked him into coming on here," she said, explaining that she wanted him to make this a public donation as an example for other donors.
Winfrey and Zuckerberg went to great lengths to explain that the timing of the announcement has no connection to the forthcoming film about his life and the founding of Facebook, which paints an unflattering portrait of the young billionaire. Zuckerberg laughed off the portrait of him in the film saying, "It's a movie. It's fun. A lot of it is fiction," he said. "This is my life so I know it's not that dramatic."
| Newark Mayor Cory Booker on the Oprah Winfrey Show |