People are quick to discuss Mark Zuckerberg.
However, the billionaire Facebook founder's wife has an eye-opening story of her own.
Here are some things you may not know about Priscilla Chan.
Zuckerberg famously went to Harvard University, and that's where he met the love of his life,
in line for the bathroom at a frat party in 2003.
Chan was also attending the Ivy League school, and the two brilliant students apparently
had an instant connection.
In addition to her book-smarts and intense knowledge of science, the philanthropist is
also fluent in not one, not two, but three languages.
She told Today,
"I grew up speaking Cantonese at home.
English, obviously, from school and growing up here."
She also speaks Spanish, which she chose to learn for an incredible reason: to better
help her patients.
She explained,
"You can be a better provider and really connect better with individuals if you can speak their
language, and so I started studying Spanish in college, and get lots of practice in my
work."
Chan may have gone to Harvard, a university famous for producing captains of industry,
politicians, and other notable public figures, but her life goal is to help people in any
way she can.
Perhaps that's why she started the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, an organization she founded with
her husband that, according to their website, works on:
"Preventing and eradicating disease...improving learning experiences for kids, [and] reforming
the criminal justice system."
Chan told Quartz,
"Giving back has been part of my life before I even met Mark.
[Throughout my schooling and my career, I] kept seeing problems affecting children, students
and adults."
So much so, that she felt there was, quote, "a fundamental lack of hope."
With that in mind, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was born.
Chan added,
"So what if we take that lens of a frontline practitioner, if we take the tool set of building
technology, what niche might we be able to fill in the world of actually making social
impact?"
During an interview with CNN Business to discuss CZI, Chan admitted that she hates the spotlight,
but will make appearances to help her organization.
"I'm here because people told me it would be good for CZI."
"No one's ever been that candid with me in an interview."
One of the most infamous aspects of Zuckerberg is that he seems to almost always be wearing
the same outfit, despite being insanely rich.
In many public appearances, speeches, and events, Zuckerberg is seen wearing a hoodie.
And while people have criticized him for his clothing choices, his wife Chan will never
be one to do so.
In fact, she's become something of a hoodie apologist for her hubby, telling Today in
2014,
"[He's] graduated to a nicer hoodie...[One] that's nicer [and] softer, so he's really
excited about that...I'm happy with whatever he wants to wear, as long as it's appropriate
for where we're going.
So he can't wear it to weddings.
And he can't wear it to baby showers.
But he can do whatever else he wants."
Some women might be appalled if their husband always wore the same thing, but not Chan.
She added,
"I'm pro-hoodie.
He wears a fresh hoodie every day so that pretty much meets my lowest barrier for him."
When Zuckerberg first got back together with Chan after a breakup, things weren't all peachy-keen.
The couple is happily married now, but once upon a time, they had some serious compromises
to make.
In fact, in order for them to work things out, Chan had one specific stipulation.
In the book The Facebook Effect, author David Kirkpatrick wrote about how Chan and Zuckerberg
allegedly negotiated the terms of their relationship after they got back together and before they
got married.
Kirkpatrick wrote,
"While they wouldn't live together they would spend a minimum of 100 minutes of time alone
each week and have at least one date, which would not be either at his apartment or at
Facebook."
Those claims are yet to be verified, and it's not exactly commonplace to hammer out relationship
details in contract form, but the rumors suggest it works for Chan and Zuckerberg.
Despite her vast riches, Chan isn't a big spender.
In fact, Zuckerberg's wife is super practical when it comes to money.
As a source told The New York Times, in 2012, when Chan was out shopping with her sister-in-law,
she saw an expensive pair of shoes she liked.
Her sister-in-law told her she should just get them since she has money now, but Chan
reportedly responded,
"It's not my money."
When it comes to Chan and Zuckerberg's joint business and philanthropy venture, CZI, Chan
has found a way to balance her work and personal life.
She told Quartz,
"It's not a hierarchy.
We have to walk the balance of our decisions."
Zuckerberg offered some insight in the same interview, saying,
"We used to go out to dinner to talk about CZI one night a week, but that felt weird
over time, because we also go out on dates.
I just think psychologically, you want to have different places.
So now we carve off time, like our one-on-ones."
"Who started date night, who's idea was that?"
"It's Mark's idea."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Chan clearly knows how to juggle her work and her personal life, and make it work for
her entire family.
Chan may be one of the most powerful women in the world, married to one of the most powerful
men in the world, but she still has to find her own way to express her emotions.
Speaking with Quartz, Chan came right out with it, saying,
"I want to tell you upfront: I'm a crier."
"You have this way of communicating out of the soul of something, I think it's inspiring."
One of Chan's colleagues explained,
"When she's feeling exhausted or overwhelmed, and sometimes when she's really ecstatic,
it's just one of her ways of expressing."
But all that emotion doesn't bring her down when she's working, as Chan is as cool as
a cucumber in stressful situations.
One of Chan's co-workers shared,
"She was so calm under pressure, really quick thinking.
[Even dealing with something really stressful], she had total capacity to deal with it."
With Zuckerberg at the helm of his massive, arguably culture-changing social media platform,
and Chan smoothly running its philanthropic wing, this pair is a total professional powerhouse.
And it sounds like they manage to do it all with an eye on a healthy work-life balance.
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