On Wednesday, Warren Buffet, a billionaire investor donated more than $750 Million worth of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the four foundations run by his family. But unlike other years his annual gifts to charity each summer, the recipients didn’t include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
He has been making donations every year to the same five charities from 2006 onwards, and in the same year, he also announced that he will give away his fortune over time. The Gates Foundation receives the highest donation. On Wednesday, marks the first donation made by Buffet which he gave away as the second major gift within the year.
According to the Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Buffett gave away 1.5 million Class B shares in Omaha which is a Nebraska-based conglomerate he leads to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named after his first wife. He also gave 300,000 Class B shares apiece to the three foundations run by his children: the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation.
He gave Class B shares worth 11 million to the Gates Foundation, 1.1 million worth of Class B shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, and 770,218 shares apiece to his children’s three foundations.
It wasn’t presently clear what encouraged the new contributions this week, and Buffett didn’t directly respond to questions about them. The Gates Foundation and the Buffett family foundations that accepted the gifts also didn’t react to questions.
The major changes made to his giving plans by the billionaire over the years came a decade ago when he increased the donation amount pledged to his children’s foundation because he was happy to see his children spend his money on good things.
The Susan Thompson Buffet Foundation keeps a low profile but it has been a big supporter of abortion rights, making large gifts to Planned Parenthood and other groups. Since the US Supreme court overturned Roe v. Wade earlier this year, Buffet hasn’t announced any changes in his giving plans.
But the interesting thing is that even after sharing his gifts with charity, Buffet still has control over the company’s voting power with more than 31%.
About Berkshire
Berkshire Hathaway is a multinational conglomerate that owns more than 90 companies including BNSF railroad, Geico insurance, several major utilities, and an assortment of manufacturing and retail firms including Precision Castparts, Dairy Queen, and Helzberg Diamonds. It was founded by Oliver Chace in 1839. The company generated revenue of 27,610 crores USD as of 2021.