American billionaire and philanthropist Warren Buffett donated shares of his Berkshire Hathaway company worth around $5.3 billion (roughly CZK 124 billion) to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and four other charities. It is Buffett’s largest annual contribution to the five charities since he began giving in 2006. The CNBC website reports about it today.
Berkshire Hathaway said Buffett has decided to give away about 13 million of its shares to charities this year. Almost ten million shares went to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The remaining shares were split between the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named after Buffett’s late first wife, and the foundations of his three children.
Buffett has previously promised to gradually divest almost all of his assets.In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), he said that upon his death, almost all of his remaining assets will go to a new charitable trust that will be overseen by his children. Buffett now still owns about $130 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway stock.
“It should be used to help people less fortunate than me,” Buffett told the WSJ. “There are lots of ways to help people,” he added.
Třiadevadesátiletý Buffett he is among the richest people in the world and thanks to his successful investments he earned the nickname The Oracle of Omaha. He has been managing Berskhire since 1965.
