 In July 2010 , Booker attended a dinner at a conference in Sun Valley , Idaho , where he was seated with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg . Zuckerberg , who had no known ties to Newark , announced in September 2010 that he was donating $ 100 million of his personal fortune to the Newark school system . According to an article in the New York Times , Booker and Zuckerberg continued their conversation about Booker 's plans for Newark . The initial gift was made to start a foundation for education . The gift was formally announced when Booker , New Jersey Governor Chris Christie , and Zuckerberg appeared together on The Oprah Winfrey Show . The timing of Zuckerberg 's donation was questioned by some as a move for damage control to his image , as it was announced on the opening day of the movie The Social Network , a film that painted an unflattering portrait of Zuckerberg . On her show , however , Winfrey told the audience that Zuckerberg and Booker had been in talks for months and had actually planned the announcement for the previous month , and that she and Booker had to force Zuckerberg to put his name to the donation , which he had wanted to make anonymously . 
