Warren Buffett is giving away $6 billion in what will be his biggest donation in over two decades.
Buffett, whose estimated net worth is $152 billion, is still the fifth richest person in the world, but he’s continuing his promise to give away most of his fortune before he dies, per PEOPLE.
His will provides that about 99½ percent of his estate is destined for philanthropic usage.
The 94-year-old billionaire, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, announced in a press release on Saturday, June 28, that he is donating $6 billion in Berkshire Hathaway shares to five charities, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, by June 30.
The donation involves 9.43 million Berkshire Hathaway shares to the Gates Foundation, making it one of the largest charity endowments in the world.
Also, 943,384 shares will be given to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the organization named for his late ex-wife, who died in 2004.
Finally, 660,366 shares will go to each of the three charities led by his children: the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation, and NoVo Foundation, per the Daily Mail.
“The mathematics of the lifetime commitments to the five foundations are interesting,” Buffett said in a statement. “The schedule for annual grants was made on June 26, 2006, and has since been supplemented by significant grants to four of the five recipients.”
“When originally made, I owned 474,998 Berkshire A shares worth about $43 billion and those shares represented more than 98% of my net worth. I have converted A shares into B shares before making contributions,” he added.
Buffett converted 8,239 Class A shares — each worth around $730,000 — into 12,358,500 Class B shares, most of which were donated.
A shares are the original stock in Berkshire Hathaway with high voting power, while B shares were created in 1996 for retail investors.
Despite giving away billions, Buffett will retain control over Berkshire Hathaway because he still owns just under 40 percent of the Class A shares, with 13.8 percent of Berkshire's stock under his ownership.
'The five foundations have received Berkshire B shares that had a value when received of about $60 billion, substantially more than my entire net worth in 2006,' Buffett said.
'I have no debts and my remaining A shares are worth about $145 billion, well over 99 percent of my net worth,' he added.
Buffett and Bill Gates founded the Giving Pledge in 2010, encouraging wealthy individuals to give away the majority of their fortunes. Buffett has pledged a total of $36 billion to the Gates Foundation through 2022, with plans to continue annual donations until his death.
His family will also play a role in distributing his fortune after his death, with his three children in charge of a charitable trust that will have ten years to allocate the money to charities of their choice.
“It’s not so easy to give away money if you want to do it smart, if you want to be intelligent about it,” Howard Buffett told the Associated Press in September 2024. “It’s pretty amazing that he’s giving us this opportunity.”
Reflecting on his success, Buffett said: “Nothing extraordinary has occurred at Berkshire; a very long runway, simple and generally sound decisions, the American tailwind and compounding effects produced my current wealth.”
But now, the “Oracle of Omaha” says it’s time to pass the torch. Buffett plans to step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway by the end of this year, naming billionaire investor Greg Abel, currently vice chairman of the company, as his successor.
Abel has served as vice chairman since 2018.