Key Points
Warren Buffett has a new plan to dispose of all his Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA) (NYSE: BRKB) shares. The legendary investor and former CEO of Berkshire owns about 188,000 Class A shares of the conglomerate he built over five decades, as well as more than 1,100 Class B shares. Those shares mean Buffett’s net worth is approximately $150 billion, making him one of the world’s wealthiest individuals.
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In 2006, Buffett pledged to gradually give away all his Berkshire stock to philanthropic foundations. This week, he announced a plan to accelerate that process and also changed the recipients of all that wealth, saying in a Berkshire news release dated July 14, “My goal is to dispose of all of my Berkshire shares within about eight years.”
Buffett said his remaining shares will be donated to four foundations, three of which are run by his children and one dedicated to his late wife, Susan Thompson Buffett.
In addition, Buffett is skipping his annual donation to the Gates Foundation. According to reports in The Wall Street Journal, the change to that charity is due to Microsoft founder Bill Gates’ interactions with the disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Buffett is awaiting the Gates Foundation’s review of its past interactions with Epstein before he resumes any additional gifts to the charity.
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Matthew Benjamin has positions in Berkshire Hathaway and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Berkshire Hathaway and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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