Warren Buffet pledged in 2006 to progressively transfer all of his Berkshire Hathaway holdings to charitable organizations. Towards this pledge, Warren E. Buffett has again decided to donate 13.69 million shares of Berkshire Hathaway stock to five nonprofits, with more than 10 million shares worth $3.6 billion going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Business wire stated that In order to donate 13,693,432 shares of Berkshire Hathaway "B" stock to five foundations, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and NoVo Foundation, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman converted 9,129 A shares into 13,693,500 B shares. The recipient foundations received these gifts on Wednesday.
As per the news, Warren Buffett gave Berkshire Hathaway shares to five different charities, including 10,453,008 to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, 1,045,300 to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, and 731,708 to the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, NoVo Foundation, and Sherwood Foundation.
With the donation done, Warren Buffet stated that, “the value of the Berkshire B shares that were donated to the five organizations when they were received was around $50 billion, which is far more than my whole net worth in 2006. I have no obligations, and the value of my remaining A shares, which account for almost 99 percent of my net worth, is around $112 billion.”
He further went on by saying that the granting schedule was set on June 26, 2006. And when the original plan was created, he had 474,998 shares of Berkshire A valued $43 billion, accounting for more than 98% of his net worth. He included that he had converted the A shares into B before making the donations.
The pledge issued in 2006 Warren Buffet clearly stated, “This commitment won't change anything about how I live or how my kids live. They have already gotten a sizable quantity for their own purposes and will continue to do so. They have contented and successful lives. And I'll keep living my life in a way that provides me everything I could possibly want.”
- Charu Kapoor
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