subscribe Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Subscribe now
Warren Buffett. Picture: SCOTT MORGAN/REUTERS
Warren Buffett. Picture: SCOTT MORGAN/REUTERS

Warren Buffett has donated another $4.64bn of Berkshire Hathaway stock to five charities, boosting his total giving since 2006 to more than $51bn. 

The annual donation on Wednesday is the 92-year-old Buffett’s largest, and consisted of about 13.7-million of Berkshire's Class B shares.

Buffett is donating 10.45-million shares to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has received more than $39bn of Berkshire stock overall.

He is also donating 1.05-million shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named for his late first wife, and 2.2-million shares split evenly among charities led by his children Howard, Susan and Peter: the Howard G Buffett Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation and the NoVo Foundation.

Buffett is gradually giving away nearly all of the fortune he built at Nebraska-based Berkshire, which he has run since 1965.

He and Bill Gates also pioneered the Giving Pledge, in which more than 240 people such as Michael Bloomberg, Larry Ellison, Carl Icahn, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg committed at least half of their wealth to philanthropy.

Buffett has already donated more than half of his Berkshire stock. He still owns more than $112.5bn, or about 15%, of Berkshire shares after Wednesday's donations.

“Nothing extraordinary has occurred at Berkshire: a very long runway, simple and generally sound decisions, the American tailwind and compounding effects produced my current wealth,” Buffett said in a statement.

“American tailwind” was coined by Buffett in 2019 to describe the US ability to build wealth in the long term and even in times of war and financial crisis.

Buffett built Berkshire into a company worth about $740bn with businesses such as the BNSF railroad and Geico car insurance, and stocks such as Apple.

The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation works in reproductive health. The Howard G Buffett Foundation focuses on alleviating hunger, mitigating conflict and improving public safety. The Sherwood Foundation supports nonprofits in Nebraska. NoVo Foundation initiatives focus on girls and women.

Reuters

 

subscribe Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Subscribe now

Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.