Warren Buffett donates $4.6 billion in Berkshire shares to Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Warren Buffett has donated 13,693,432 Berkshire Hathaway shares to five foundations, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
American business magnate Warren Buffett has donated 13,693,432 Berkshire Hathaway shares to five foundations, which includes Bill & Milinda Gates Foundations. As per the news available on business wire — a breaking Hathway company, the Berkshire Hathway Chairman has converted 9,129 A shares into 13,693,500 B shares in order to donate 13,693,432 shares of Berkshire Hathaway “B” stock to five foundations — Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation and NoVo Foundation. These donations have been delivered on Wednesday to the beneficiary foundations.
The 13.7 million Class B shares were donated to five philanthropies, including one named for his late wife and several run by his children, according to a statement. Buffett’s stake in Berkshire now consists of 218,287 Class A shares and 344 Class B shares.
“The five foundations have received Berkshire B shares that had a value when received of about $50 billion, substantially more than my entire net worth in 2006,” Buffett said, referring to the year he first made the pledge. “I have no debts and my remaining A shares are worth about $112 billion, well over 99% of my net worth.”
Out of these five foundations, Warren Buffett donated 10,453,008 Berkshire Hathway shares to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, 1,045,300 shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and 731,708 shares to each of the Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation and NoVo Foundation.
Speaking on the Berkshire Hathway share donation, Warren Buffett said, “The five foundations have received Berkshire B shares that had a value when received of about $50 billion, substantially more than my entire net worth in 2006. I have no debts and my remaining A shares are worth about $112 billion, well over 99 per cent of my net worth.”
Warren Buffett went on to add that 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“When originally made, I owned 474,998 Berkshire A shares worth about $43 billion and those shares represented more than 98% of my net worth.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,” Berkshire Hathway Chairman said adding, "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. My will provides that more than 99% of my estate is destined for philanthropic usage.”
Warren Buffett has donated another $4.64 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to five charities, boosting his total giving since 2006 to more than $51 billion.
The annual donation made on Wednesday is the 92-year-old Buffett's largest, and consisted of about 13.7 million of Berkshire's Class B shares.
*With agency inputs
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First Published:22 Jun 2023, 08:33 AM IST
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