'Father Time Always Wins': Warren Buffett, 94, Just Announced Major Changes to His Plan to Give Away His Money Warren Buffett continued his Thanksgiving tradition with a $1.1 billion donation of Berkshire Hathaway stock to four of his family's foundations.
By Erin Davis
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Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett, 94, is making more changes to his philanthropic plans.
The iconic investor, who is No. 7 on Bloomberg's billionaire list with around $150 billion as of press time, announced new donations and provided details about how he plans to continue to give away his fortune in a letter to Berkshire shareholders on Monday. Buffett is donating 99.5% of his wealth to a charitable trust that will be overseen by his children (his daughter and two sons) after his death.
Buffett continued his Thanksgiving tradition of giving away Berkshire stock with a new donation of $1.14 billion to his four family foundations (Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the Susan A. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation).
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"Father time always wins. But he can be fickle – indeed unfair and even cruel – sometimes ending life at birth or soon thereafter while, at other times, waiting a century or so before paying a visit," Buffett wrote. "To date, I've been very lucky, but, before long, he will get around to me. There is, however, a downside to my good fortune in avoiding his notice. The expected life span of my children has materially diminished since the 2006 pledge. They are now 71, 69, and 66."
Buffett's children will have about 10 years to give away his remaining wealth after his death. Disbursement requests must be unanimous.
"Wealthy friends have been curious about the extraordinary confidence I have in my children and their possible alternates," Buffett notes. "Hence, the 'unanimous decision' provision. That restriction enables an immediate and final reply to grant-seekers: 'It's not something that would ever receive my brother's consent.' And that answer will improve the lives of my children."
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But due to everyone's ages, Buffett announced that he named three potential successor trustees to oversee the foundations should his children pass away before giving away all the money.
"Three potential successor trustees have been designated. Each is well-known to my children and makes sense to all of us. They are also somewhat younger than my children," Buffett wrote. "But these successors are on the waitlist. I hope Susie, Howie, and Peter themselves disburse all of my assets."
The successors were not named.
In the letter, Buffett also talks about how the world has changed in his almost 100 years on the planet and offers a hopeful outlook for the future. Despite the changes, Buffett did not step down from any work-related responsibilities.
Berkshire is a $1 trillion conglomerate.
Read the full letter, here.
