Warren Buffett has revised his will and shifted the direction of his vast fortune posthumously.
Warren Buffett, 93, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, informed the Wall Street Journal that he had updated his will and wealth into a new charitable trust managed by his three children.
Buffett had modified his will several times, citing confidence in his children’s values and ability to manage his wealth wisely. Each child already leads a philanthropic organization. “I feel very, very good about the values of my three children, and I have 100% trust in how they will carry things out,” he said.
Previously, Buffett had pledged over 99% of his estate to philanthropy, mainly through the Gates Foundation and four family charities: Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and NoVo Foundation. In the new will, The Gates Foundation will receive no money after Warren Buffett’s death.
However, Buffett pledges to continue his contributions to the Gates Foundation during his lifetime.
On Friday, Berkshire Hathaway announced that Buffett is converting about 9,000 Class A shares into over 13 million Class B shares. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust will receive about 9.3 million shares, and the remaining shares will go to four Buffett family charities.
“Warren Buffett has been exceedingly generous to the Gates Foundation through more than 18 years of contributions and advice,” stated Mark Suzman, the foundation’s CEO, to CNN. “We are deeply grateful for his most recent gift and contributions totalling approximately $43 billion to our work.”
Last year, Buffett donated about $870 million to his family’s four charities and approximately $750 million in 2022.
Following these newly announced donations, Buffett owns 207,963 Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares and 2,586 Class B shares, totalling an approximate value of $128 billion.
