Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO Warren Buffett has transformed his annual letters to investors into a beloved tradition over the decades. These letters provide an analysis of the market from the unique perspective of the so-called “Oracle of Omaha” and typically disclose the amount the billionaire pledges for charitable donations.
$1.14 billion to charity projects. In this year’s letter, the 94-year-old Buffett emphasizes his commitment to philanthropy by allocating $1.14 billion to his family’s four foundations.
According to Bloomberg, this amount will come from converting 1,600 Berkshire Hathaway’s Class A shares into 2.4 million Class B shares.
Family foundations. The bulk of the donation will go to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, established in memory of his late wife, Susan, who passed away in 2004. Buffett plans to allocate 1.5 million shares to her foundation.
The remaining 900,000 shares will be equally distributed among the foundations created by his three children: the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation. A condition of these grants is that “all foundations will require a unanimous vote.”
Record donation. According to Forbes, Buffett has an estimated net worth of $148.8 billion. Now, he’s set a new record for his annual philanthropic contributions. In 2023, he donated a total of $870 million, an increase from the $750 million he allocated to his family’s foundations in 2022.
This tradition was initially started by Buffett’s late wife, who allocated $10 million of her personal fortune to each of her children’s foundations. Upon her death, Susan also bequeathed 96% of her estate, amounting to $3 billion, to her own foundation.
Commitment to donate. Following Susan’s passing, Buffett took up the mantle to commit to donating 99% of his fortune to charitable causes through his family foundations. In his latest letter to investors, he said, “The children have now more than justified our hopes and, upon my death, will have full responsibility for gradually distributing all of my Berkshire holdings. These now account for 99½% of my wealth.”
The New York Times recently reported on how Buffett wants his wealth managed after his death. The Berkshire CEO has outlined the steps to liquidate his fortune for philanthropy. In his recent letter, he said, “The massive wealth I’ve collected may take longer to deploy than my children live.” His children are 71, 69, and 66.
“I have now watched my children grow into good and productive citizens. They have different views in many cases from both me and their siblings but have common values that are unwavering,” he added.
A notable omission. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation regularly receives donations from Buffett. However, according to Tim Schwab’s The Bill Gates Problem, the relationship between Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Buffett appears to have cooled following Gates’ divorce and Melinda’s departure from the foundation’s leadership.
In the past, Buffett has donated more than $39 billion to Gates’ foundation. However, in his latest round of donations, the Berkshire CEO hasn’t allocated any stock packages to support it. In July, Buffett announced that, after his death, the Gates Foundation would no longer receive donations from his fortune.
Image | Javier @trackrecord
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