US star investor Warren Buffett (94) gave away Berkshire Hathaway shares worth more than $1.1 billion to four of his family’s foundations on the occasion of the upcoming US holiday Thanksgiving
Buffet had already announced that his three children should distribute his remaining assets of $147.4 billion in the ten years after his death. But now he has also appointed successors for them in the event that one or more of his children die before this task is completed.
The 94-year-old did not provide any information about who it was. They are known to his children Peter, Howard and Susie, who are now 66, 69 and 71 years old. And they agree with the choice, he emphasizes.
The billionaire, known for his modest lifestyle, said he believes that “very rich parents should leave their children enough to do everything, but not so much that they can do nothing.”
If Buffett and his first wife had never given away any of their Berkshire shares, the family’s fortune would now be almost $364 billion, according to the AP news agency. And therefore higher than even that of Tesla-Boss Elon Musk (53), who faced a massive increase in the value of his Shares
According to Forbes, the car manufacturer currently has assets of almost $329 billion since the US election.
But in 2004, after the death of Buffet’s first wife Susan, the family began donating billions. Since 2006, Buffett has donated annually to the family foundations, some of which are run by himself and his children, as well as to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is committed to the fight against poverty, disease and inequality in the world . The Gates Foundation alone, which already existed before Buffett set up the family foundation structure, has already received stock grants worth $55 billion.
Buffett always makes his main annual donations to all five foundations in the summer, but for the past few years he has been giving additional Berkshire shares to his family’s foundations at Thanksgiving.
Inheritance tips for parents
Buffett on Monday reiterated his advice to all parents to give their families the opportunity to read their wills while they are still alive – as he did – to ensure they have the opportunity to make decisions about the distribution of their possessions explain and answer your children’s questions. Buffett said he and his longtime investment partner Charlie Munger, who died in 2023, had seen “many families torn apart after the posthumous dictates of the will left beneficiaries confused and sometimes angry.”
Today, Buffett continues to lead Berkshire Hathaway as chairman and CEO, but has handed over most of the day-to-day management duties for the conglomerate’s dozens of companies to others. According to current plans, after his death, one of his deputies, Greg Abel (62), will take over the head position at Berkshire, in which, according to the AP, Buffet still holds more than 30 percent of the voting rights even after the last donations.