Warren Buffett donates ₹7,250 crore worth shares to charities as Thanksgiving

American billionaire investor and Chairperson of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett has expressed gratitude for the Thanksgiving festival, announcing the donation of a whopping 2.4 million (approximately ₹7,250 crore) Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway stock to a charitable foundation run by his children.

Donations to family-run charitable trusts

The 1.5 million shares include contributions to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which is named after his late wife. Moreover, 0.9 million shares are evenly distributed among the other three charities including The Sherwood Foundation, The Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation which is also overseen by his children. In the previous year as well, he supplemented his regular donations to these foundations and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The 93-year-old said, “My children, along with their father, have a common belief that dynastic wealth, though both legal and common in much of the world including the United States, is not desirable.” 

The billionaire also added that his children would act as trustees of a charitable trust after his death. Notably, the charitable trust will inherit 99% of his total wealth.

The Berkshire Hathaway Inc. chief executive officer said, “Testamentary trust will be self-liquidating after a decade or so and operate with a lean staff."

Ninth richest individual

Warren Buffett is ranked as the world's ninth-richest person with a net worth of $120.8 billion, as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The 93-year-old has seen his fortune grow by $13.3 billion this year. He is well known for giving away his fortune in 2006, and 2012. Over the years, the billionaire has increased the annual donations he made to the foundations.