Warren Buffett to donate $6 Billion to 5 Charities

Warren Buffett is giving away $6 billion- his biggest donation in almost two decades- to five charities by the end of the month. The chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and philanthropist, 94, announced in a press release on Saturday, June 28, that he is giving away $6 billion in Berkshire Hathaway shares to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust and four other charities.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust is one charity that Buffet has worked closely with over the years, as he has served as a trustee for the charity between 2006 and 2021. According to the trust’s website, Buffett has pledged a total of $36 billion to the charity through 2022.

Another charity that will be receiving a portion of the $6 billion is the charity he started with his first wife, the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which is focused on family planning and reproductive health.

The Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation and NoVo Foundation, which were founded by his three adult children Susan, 72, Howard, 70, and Peter, 67, respectively, will also get a portion of the funds. The donations will be delivered to the charities on June 30.

He converted over 8,000 Class A shares and over 12 million Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway shares in order to make the donation, which is his largest donation since 2006, according to Forbes. “The mathematics of the lifetime commitments to the five foundations are interesting,” Buffet 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“When originally made, I owned 474,998 Berkshire A shares worth about $43 billion and those shares represented more than 98% of my net worth.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, whose estimated net worth is $152 billion, also shared in his statement that upon his death, “about 99½%” of his estate is “destined for philanthropic usage,” per his will.

Last year it was reported that the Nebraska businessman planned to donate his fortune to a charitable trust after his death, according to the Associated Press. His three children would be in charge of the trust and have 10 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 told the AP in September 2024. “It’s pretty amazing that he’s giving us this opportunity.” He also plans to continue to donate to the Gates Foundation and to his family's charities annually until his death, per AP.