Jul 2, 2024
Warren Buffett’s shrewd and sharp investments are what have built his company, Berkshire Hathaway, and his incredible fortune — but at 93 years old, the Oracle of Omaha’s next designs are arranging what exactly to do with his billions once he’s gone.
Buffett has already given away more than half his shares of Berkshire, which he transformed into a massive holding company after taking charge in 1965 with his old pal Charlie Munger.
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After his last round of donations — a record $5.3 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities — Buffett’s still left with nearly $130 billion of his company’s stock.
““It should be used to help the people that haven’t been as lucky as we have been,” he told The Wall Street Journal. “There’s eight billion people in the world, and me and my kids, we’ve been in the luckiest 100th of 1% or something.”
“There’s lots of ways to help people.”
Continuing his philanthropic work (through his kids)
While Buffett has long maintained his three children, Susie, Howie and Peter, won’t be receiving a big inheritance once he dies. Instead he is leaving nearly all of his remaining wealth to a new charitable trust that will be overseen by them.
The Berkshire CEO and chairman revealed he’s changed up his will several times over the years before ultimately deciding on his current plan.
“I feel very, very good about the values of my three children, and I have 100% trust in how they will carry things out,” Buffett said.
Susie Buffett, 71, chairs the Sherwood Foundation, which provides grants to organizations promoting equity, public education and social justice. She also chairs the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation (named after her mother) which reportedly funds reproductive rights and Nebraska college scholarships, and with her brother, Howie, serves on the Berkshire board.
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Howie Buffett, 69, helms the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, which focuses grantmaking in food security, public safety, conflict mitigation and combating human trafficking.
Peter Buffett, 66, is a music composer, and with his wife Jennifer, leads the NoVo Foundation, which supports marginalized groups, including Indigenous communities.
Buffett believes leaving his charitable giving in the hands of his children will be ideal, especially when it comes to responding to potential changes to laws surrounding taxes and foundations.
“I like to think I can think outside the box, but I’m not sure if I can think outside the box when it’s six feet below the surface, and do a better job than three people who are on the surface who I trust completely,” he said.
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No more giving to the Gates Foundation
Buffett told the Journal that his donations to the four foundations connected to his family — and the Gates Foundation — will come to an end once he’s gone.
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“The Gates Foundation has no money coming after my death,” he said.
Mark Suzman, the foundation’s CEO, told CNN in a statement that Buffett has provided over 18 years of “exceedingly generous advice and contributions.
“We are deeply grateful for his most recent gift and contributions totaling approximately $43 billion to our work,” he said.
It’s less clear where Buffett’s remaining wealth will go — as it is up to his three children to unanimously decide which philanthropic purposes to pursue.
Peter told The Journal their decisions could be impacted by everything from stock prices to tax laws to social and political developments.
“I can imagine it will be probably some continuation of what we’ve been doing,” Susie added.
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Serah Louis is a reporter with Moneywise.com. She enjoys tackling topical personal finance issues for young people and women and covering the latest in financial news.
