OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Investor Warren Buffett announced an additional $5.3 billion in charitable giving Friday, but in a major shift in his strategy. long-standing donation plan He said he plans to suspend donations to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation after his death and let his three children decide how to distribute the remainder of his $128 billion fortune.
Buffett outlined his new plan for his succession in a interview The 93-year-old billionaire who runs Berkshire Hathaway did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press Friday about his plan that calls for Howard, Susie and Peter Buffett to unanimously agree on where to give his shares Berkshire Hathaway after his death.
Buffett has given about $55 billion of Berkshire stock to five foundations since he introduced his giving plan in 2006, with the largest share by far going to the Gates FoundationThe other four foundations are affiliated with his family, including those run by each of his children.
“The Gates Foundation will have no money after I die,” said Buffett, who stepped down from the Gates Foundation board in 2021 after Bill Gates, one of his best friends, announced his divorce from Melinda French Gates. left the Gates Foundation earlier this year.
In his initial commitment In 2006, Warren Buffett wrote to the Gates Foundation that he intended to include the foundation in his will. “I will soon draw up a new will which will provide for the continuation of this commitment – through the distribution of the remaining reserved shares or in another way – after my death,” he wrote then, referring to the annual donations of Berkshire Hathaway shares he promised.
But Buffett said in A declaration Friday, his initial promises are only valid until his death.
Buffett will let his children decide what to do with his Berkshire shares, much as he currently lets foundations decide how to use his donations. He said they already know the purpose of his donations.
“It should be used to help people who haven’t been as fortunate as we have been,” Buffett told the Journal. “There are eight billion people in the world, and me and my kids, we’ve been in the luckiest 100th of 1 percent, or something like that. There are lots of ways to help people.”
Mark Suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation, said in a statement that he appreciates Buffett’s generosity over the years.
“Warren Buffett has been extremely generous to the Gates Foundation through more than 18 years of contributions and guidance,” Suzman said. “He has played an invaluable role in championing and shaping the foundation’s work to create a world where every person can live healthy, productive lives. We are deeply grateful for his most recent gift and his contributions totaling approximately $43 billion to our work.
The value of Buffett’s donations has grown as Berkshire’s stock price has steadily climbed, so that the shares he has given away so far are already worth more than his total fortune of $43 billion when he announced his plan. The conglomerate’s most-traded Class B shares are up about 22% over the past 12 months.
“Nothing extraordinary has happened at Berkshire; a very long runway, simple but generally sound capital deployment, American tailwinds and compounding effects have produced my current wealth,” Buffett said in a statement. “My will provides that over 99% of my estate will be used for philanthropic purposes.”
Buffett’s own Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation has been a big supporter of the right to abortion over the years, but he left their children and the Gates Foundation make their own decisions about how to distribute their donations. Howard Buffett has given more than $500 million to help Ukraine since Russia invaded the country as part of its goal to help war-torn regions.
Buffett also occasionally other gifts to anonymous charities, but he never disclosed details of these donations.
Buffett reportedly still owns 207,963 Berkshire Class A shares and 2,586 Class B shares after giving away just over 13 million Class B shares on Friday. Because of the voting power of Class A stock, Buffett continues to have by far the greatest decision-making power in the operations of the massive Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate that he leads as chairman and general manager. He has not bought or sold any Berkshire stock in the past 18 years.
Buffett said that one of his vice presidents, Greg Abel, who already oversees all of Berkshire’s non-insurance businesses, take over as CEO Berkshire owns an eclectic assortment of manufacturing, retail and service companies, including BNSF Railway, several major utilities, Dairy Queen and Precision Castparts. Insurance companies, including Geico and General Reinsurance, are also a core part of Berkshire, and the company has a huge stock portfolio dominated by iconic companies like Apple, Coca-Cola, American Express and Bank of America.
Buffett’s son Howard, who already serves on Berkshire’s board, is expected to become chairman after his father’s death, but Buffett’s children will not play an active role in the company’s day-to-day operations.
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Associated Press journalist Thalia Beaty contributed to this report from New York.
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