Warren Buffett leaves huge fortune to new foundation after his death – The Irish Times

Warren Buffett has confirmed that after his death he plans to leave the majority of his wealth to a new foundation run by his three children, ending a long tradition of donations to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The billionaire CEO of Berkshire Hathaway confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that his children Susie, Howard and Peter Buffett would be the trustees of the new foundation, which would receive one of the largest wealth injections ever after his death.

Buffett, who turns 94 in August, announced Friday that he owns about $130 billion worth of Berkshire shares.

He also made it clear that the Gates Foundation would not be mentioned as a benefactor in his will.

“The Gates Foundation will not receive any money after my death,” Buffett said in the interview. Buffett has donated about $43 billion to the foundation over the past two decades, including a $4 billion donation announced on Friday.

Buffett’s ties to the Gates Foundation date back to 2006, when he announced he would donate annually to it and four charities run by his family. Later, in 2010, he launched the Giving Pledge with Bill and Melinda Gates, which called on billionaires to donate at least half of their wealth to charity.

His donations were structured so that five percent of his Berkshire shares would go to the Gates Foundation each year, ensuring that Buffett would never completely sell his shares in the company before his death.

Buffett also set several conditions for maintaining his pledge, including that either Bill or Melinda Gates remain alive and active in the foundation and that his donations enable the foundation to spend at least five percent of its endowment each year.

Buffett, who had been a trustee of the foundation since 2006, resigned in 2021. Melinda Gates resigned earlier this month.

Mark Suzman, chairman of the Gates Foundation, said Buffett had “played an invaluable role in advancing and shaping the foundation’s work to create a world in which everyone can live healthy, productive lives.”

“We are deeply grateful for his recent donation and contributions,” he added.

The Gates Foundation, which invested $7.7 billion in projects last year, focused its aid on global health initiatives, agricultural development and promoting gender equality in Africa and South Asia.

The future foundation, which will be run by Buffett’s children, will become one of the largest charities in the world when it is launched, rivaling the $108 billion Novo Nordisk Foundation in 2022. It will immediately surpass other major charities, including the Gates Foundation with $75 billion and the Ford Foundation with $16 billion, giving it the ability to fund billions of dollars worth of projects annually.

Buffett said he has not set any particular philanthropic goals for his children. Susie and Howard both sit on Berkshire’s board of directors.

“It should be used to help the people who have not been as fortunate as we have,” Buffett said. “There are eight billion people in the world, and I and my children are in the luckiest hundredth of one percent or so. There are many ways to help people.” – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2024