Warren Buffett, the 93-year-old American investor, has announced that he has finalized his donation plan, which is set to be one of the largest wealth donations in modern times.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Warren Buffett, the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, revealed in an interview with the media that upon his passing, almost all of his remaining wealth will be donated to a new charitable trust fund overseen by his daughter and two sons.
The legendary investor explicitly stated that upon his passing, his contributions to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will cease, as he has already donated billions of dollars to the foundation.
Having already donated more than half of his Berkshire Hathaway shares, valued at nearly $130 billion, Buffett continues to hold a significant stake in the company even after announcing the latest round of charitable donations.
His three children will have to unanimously decide on the charitable purposes for this money.
At the age of 93, Buffett has not yet laid down rules for his three children regarding the inheritance. However, he shared his personal views on donation matters, stating, “This money should be used to help those less fortunate than us.”
As early as 2006, Buffett, who has long been committed to philanthropy, announced his readiness for donations during his lifetime, pledging annual donations to the Gates Foundation and four family-related foundations. However, the handling of his remaining wealth after his passing remained unclear.
Buffett informed The Wall Street Journal that his donations to these five foundations will only continue while he is alive.
He said that he has revised his will several times, and it was only after seeing how his children have matured over the years that he formulated his current plan.
His 71-year-old daughter, Susie Buffett, serves as chair of two foundations; his sons, Howie Buffett and Peter Buffett, aged 69 and 66 respectively, lead separate foundations as well.
The Berkshire Hathaway CEO also mentioned that his children would be better equipped to deal with future tax and legal changes related to the foundations than himself.
In 2006, Buffett wrote to these five foundations outlining his donation plan, allocating a portion of shares as gifts to each foundation. Six years later, he doubled the pledge to his children’s foundations.
However, the wording of these letters regarding the disposition of his shares after his passing is somewhat ambiguous.
Buffett declined to disclose how long his estate plan had been prepared, but in a press release issued last November regarding additional donations of Berkshire Hathaway shares to four family foundations, he outlined the plan.
Buffett’s children mentioned in an interview that they have yet to decide how to allocate this substantial amount of funds.
Susie Buffett stated, “We haven’t discussed what we will do because it seems a bit premature.”