Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett attends the Berkshire Hathaway Inc annual shareholders’ meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., May 3, 2024. (Reuters/File Photo)
Buffett announced that he has updated his will to halt donations to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation after his death.
Investor Warren Buffett, 93, is making a major shift in his philanthropic plans. In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, he revealed he’s revising his will to direct his vast wealth after death through a new charitable trust managed by his three children. This means his significant donations to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will cease upon his passing.
“The Gates Foundation has no money coming after my death,” Buffett told the Wall Street Journal.
In an exclusive interview with the Journal, Buffett announced that he has updated his will to halt donations to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation after his death. Instead, his fortune will be redirected to a new charitable trust managed by his three children.
In a recent interview with the Journal, Warren Buffett revealed he has revised his will multiple times. His latest decision reflects his strong faith in his children’s judgement and their ability to responsibly distribute his fortune. Notably, each of Buffett’s offspring leads their philanthropic organisation.
“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 told the Journal.
Previously, Buffett had indicated that his will allocated over 99% of his estate to philanthropic purposes, specifically to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and four family-affiliated charities: the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation.
For the time being, however, Buffett appears to be planning to continue his donations to the Gates Foundation during his lifetime.
On Friday, Berkshire Hathaway announced that Buffett converted around 9,000 Class A shares into over 13 million Class B shares. Of these, approximately 9.3 million shares will be donated to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, with the remainder distributed among the four Buffett family charities.
In his original pledge to the Gates Foundation in 2006, Buffett stated his intention to include the foundation in his will.
“I will soon write a new will that will provide for a continuance of this commitment — by the distribution of the remaining earmarked shares or in some other manner — after my death,” he wrote then, referring to the annual gifts of Berkshire Hathaway stock that he was pledging.
In a Friday statement, Buffett clarified that his initial donation pledges only apply during his lifetime.
Howard Buffett, who currently serves on Berkshire’s board, is expected to assume the role of chairman following his father’s passing. However, Buffett’s children are not expected to be involved in the company’s day-to-day operations.
