Warren Buffett gives away $4.1B of Berkshire Hathaway stock to 5 charitable foundations
[June 23, 2021: Josh Shavit]
Warren Buffett has announced he is donating $4.1 billion of his Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) shares to five charitable foundations – four of them with family connections.
In a statement issued by his company, the 90-year-old Buffett recalled his 2006 pledge to channel all of his Berkshire Hathaway shares to philanthropy, and noted that the latest donation put him at the halfway mark.
Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, said the donations are part of a commitment he made 15 years ago to give away all of company shares through yearly donations.
“In June of 2006, I owned 474,998 “A” shares,” he said. “Now, I own 238,624 shares, worth about $100 billion. All remain destined for philanthropy.”
The five entities receiving Buffett’s funds are the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation and NoVo Foundation.
Buffett joined the exclusive $100B club that includes Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates in March, after Berkshire Hathaway saw its shares rise to record levels in 2021.
He is a co-founder of the Giving Pledge, along with Bill and Melinda Gates, which is a campaign that encourages billionaire philanthropy.
Mackenzie Scott, ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has also signed up to the pledge and recently announced she had donated another $2.7B to a wide range of charities.
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