Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced a $100 million gift to the beleaguered public schools of Newark, New Jersey, to help improve public education in a city he has no connection to.

The billionaire announced the grant on Friday on the Oprah Winfrey television show. He denied suggestions the timing was aimed at deflecting attention from a movie that depicts the 26-year-old in an unflattering light.

‘I’ve had a lot of opportunities in my life, and a lot of that comes from … having gone to really good schools. And I just want to do what I can to make sure that everyone has those same opportunities,’ Zuckerberg told Winfrey about his gift to a city once the backdrop for Philip Roth novels but more recently struggling with crime, corruption and decay.

On a conference call for reporters with Newark Mayor Cory Booker and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Zuckerberg said he chose Newark — a city to which he has no tangible connection — after meeting Booker at a conference this summer.

He said he was simply impressed by the mayor’s plans.

The gift brings together two of the Garden State’s rising political stars from opposite sides of the political divide.

Youthful Democrat Booker is a […]