Warren Buffett donates $870 million to charities for Thanksgiving
Warren Buffett donates $870 million to charities for Thanksgiving continuing a tradition of giving away his massive wealth.
The donations are in the form of shares, with a release from his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate detailing that 1.5 million shares are going to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which is named after his wife. In addition, another 900,000 shares are going to be distributed equally between three charities that are run by his children.
According to Buffett, the donations are a continuation of those he made during Thanksgiving last year and “supplement certain of the lifetime contributions I made in 2006 and which will continue until I pass away.”.
The same foundations received a donation of about $750 million from him last year as well. In 2006, he began making the same kind of donation each year and has been doing so ever since.
Buffett wrote to shareholders on Tuesday that he and his children “believe that dynastic wealth, though legal in much of the world and common in the United States, is not desirable.”
“Capitalism – whatever its weaknesses, including the vast disparities in wealth and political influence that it gives somewhat capriciously to its citizens – has worked wonders and will continue to work wonders,” he wrote.
In addition, the letter said Berkshire’s advantage is that it was built to last and that its “distinctive characteristics and behavior would be supported by my large Berkshire holdings.”
In spite of his age, the 93-year-old continues to maintain control over the sprawling company. As part of his succession plan for Berkshire Hathaway’s non-insurance business, he appointed Greg Abel as his successor to succeed him in 2021.
It was recently reported that Berkshire Hathaway, one of the world’s largest companies, had a surge in operating earnings and a record cash pile of $157 billion.