The Plan
Warren Buffett wants his money to go to good causes, and he wants to see it happen while he is still around. The 96-year-old investor announced he will give away every last share of Berkshire Hathaway stock he owns by the end of 2034. That is a roughly eight-year window, and the numbers are staggering.
"My goal is to dispose of all of my Berkshire shares within about eight years," Buffett said. He added that it will happen "one way or the other" - meaning he will either make the donations himself, or his children will handle it after he is gone.
The latest gift involves 12 million Class B shares. Of those, 9 million are going to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which honors his deceased first wife. The remaining 3 million shares are split evenly among the three foundations run by his children - Sherwood, Howard G. Buffett, and NoVo.
The Numbers Behind the Giving
This is not a new habit. Buffett started donating his wealth in 2006 and has already given away more than half of it. Last summer alone, he donated shares worth roughly $6 billion.
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Currently, Buffett holds 188,290 Class A shares along with 1,162 Class B shares. At current market prices, his remaining stake is worth nearly $150 billion. That is almost everything he has.
Why does it matter? When someone with that much stock starts unloading it, the market usually pays attention. But Buffett is not selling on the open market - he is transferring shares directly to foundations. That means no sudden flood of shares hitting the exchange, which would normally push the stock price down.
Who Gets the Money
The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation is the biggest winner in this latest round, getting 9 million of the 12 million shares. The three foundations run by his children each get 1 million. Buffett plans for annual grants to those three to grow each year, and for the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation to grow at a somewhat faster rate.
One notable absence this year: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust. The Gates Foundation had been a regular recipient for two decades, but this year it was left out. The Wall Street Journal reported that Buffett excluded it after an examination of its Epstein connections.
They already manage the foundations that received the latest gifts. "The goal is to have the grants grow annually to each of the three foundations managed by each of my children and the annual grant to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation grow at a somewhat greater rate," "Buffett said.
Buffett wrote in his latest Thanksgiving letter that he would" "step up" "his pace of giving as his children are in their late 60s and early 70s, and he wanted them to be able to disburse" "what will essentially be my entire estate" during their lifetimes. Buffett, a perennial member of the global top-10 richest individuals, relinquished his role as Berkshire's chief executive in late 2023, concluding a 60-year tenure and passing the baton to Greg Abel.
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