Warren Buffett, yes of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has a few hours away resigned as a Trustee of the Gates Foundation and has now donated half of his fortune from running Berkshire Hathaway towards philanthropic activities.
According to the 90-year-old, he has been inactive for quite some time now but he fully supports the goals of the foundation. He also announced a $4.1 billion donation of his company’s shares to the Gates Foundation and four charities, a move in sync with part of his pledge to donate 99% of his net worth before his demise. Berkshire is worth a whopping $600 billion, owning a plethora of stocks in top-performing companies globally.
“Over many decades I have accumulated an almost incomprehensible sum simply by doing what I love to do, “Society has a use for my money: I don’t.”
Warren Buffett
Certain questions have been raised as to why this happened on the heels of the breakdown of the Gates marital union, but the Gates Foundation have not responded to a request for comment as of this writing.
The charities to benefit from Warren Buffett’s magnanimity include the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named for Buffett’s late first wife, and charities run by Buffett’s children Howard, Susan and Peter: the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation and the Novo Foundation.
The billionaire assured that his children will remain well catered for despite his pledge to relinquish his wealth. His exact words were – A very rich person should leave his kids enough to do anything, but not enough to do nothing.
