Warren Buffett to leave his billions to new charitable trust

Warren Buffett, the renowned investor and philanthropist, has reaffirmed his commitment to donate 99% of his wealth to charity.

On Friday morning, Buffett and his holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, announced a significant donation of over 13 million Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway stock to five foundations.

At the Thursday closing price of $407.95 per share, this amounts to a total of $5.3 billion.

Five foundations to receive $5.3 billion in shares

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust will receive $4 billion in shares, while the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, chaired by Buffett’s daughter Susie, will be allocated $400 million.

Additionally, the Sherwood Foundation (also chaired by Susie), the Howard G. Buffett Foundation (headed by his son Howie), and the NoVo Foundation (led by his other son, Peter) will each receive over $280 million.

The donations are set to be delivered on Friday, according to Berkshire.

Buffett first established these annual grants to the five foundations in 2006, making lifetime commitments to support these charities.

At that time, Buffett owned 474,998 Class A shares of Berkshire, worth approximately $43 billion. To facilitate the contributions, Buffett converts Class A shares to Class B shares.

Contributions exceed initial commitments

Buffett stated,

The five foundations have received Berkshire B shares valued at about $55 billion, substantially more than my entire net worth in 2006.

He further noted that he has no debts, and his remaining Class A shares are worth around $127 billion, representing about 99.5% of his net worth. Despite not buying or selling any Class A shares since committing to his philanthropic pledge, Buffett’s net worth has increased significantly.

New charitable trust to manage Buffett’s wealth after his death

The lifetime commitments Buffett made will expire upon his death or if certain conditions outlined in his 2006 letter occur. After his death, nearly all of his remaining wealth will be directed into a new charitable trust overseen by his three children. This was revealed in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Buffett has decided that contributions to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will cease after his death. Instead, his children will determine which foundations will receive the funds. Buffett expressed complete trust in his children’s ability to manage the donations.

At Berkshire, the responsibility for capital allocation decisions will pass to Greg Abel, who is next in line to lead the conglomerate based in Omaha.

The post Warren Buffett to leave his billions to new charitable trust appeared first on Invezz