Investor Warren Buffett, 94, has just made his largest annual donation since 2006, transferring $6 billion in Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares to five foundations, CNN reported on Monday.
The majority of the donation — about 9.43 million shares — is designated for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, while the rest is divided among the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and three family foundations: Sherwood, Howard G. Buffett, and NoVo.
With this transfer, Buffett has now donated over $60 billion in total, reaffirming his strategy of giving away the majority of his wealth — currently estimated at $152 billion — to philanthropic causes.
Moreover, this is a strategic contribution: instead of personally selling the shares, he donates them directly as part of a gradual plan that preserves his voting rights. In fact, despite the donation, he still holds approximately 13.8% of Berkshire’s shares, a company he has led since 1965. The conglomerate, valued at $1.05 trillion, owns nearly 200 companies, including the auto insurer Geico and the BNSF railway company, as well as dozens of stocks such as Apple and American Express.
This new milestone coincides with his upcoming step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway — after nearly six decades at the helm — and embodies his philosophy that “wealth should be used to create impact,” reinforced by his formal pledge to donate 99.5% of his remaining estate to philanthropy after his death.
For Funds Society