Legendary investor Warren Buffet, 93, has given the public a peek at his will, revealing how he intends to use his $130 billion fortune to help those in need.
The chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway said that after he dies, almost all of his immense wealth will be put into a charitable trust, which will be managed by his daughter and two sons.
Buffet also clarified that his donations to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation would terminate.
‘The Gates Foundation has no money coming after my death,’ Buffet told The Wall Street Journal.
The active philanthropist has already parted with more than half of his shares of Berkshire Hathway, a multinational holding company that he gained control of in 1965.
On Friday morning, Buffet made his latest round of charitable donations, leaving him still in possession of almost $130 billion of company stock.
In order to donate money in the trust, Buffet’s three children will have to be in complete agreement over the causes they choose to sponsor.
The billionaire hasn’t exactly prescribed how his children should go about using the money, though, offering them little more than his philosophy of giving back.
‘It should be used to help the people that haven’t been as lucky as we have been,’ Buffet, who lives in Omaha, Nebraska, said.
‘There’s eight billion people in the world, and me and my kids, we’ve been in the luckiest 100th of 1 percent or something. There’s lots of ways to help people.’
In 2006, Buffet, who had previously contended that he would save philanthropy until his death, had a change of heart and announced his desire to give.
He committed to making annual gifts to the Gates Foundation, as well as four foundations that were associated with his family.
At the time, though, what he would do with his immense fortunate upon his death remained a mystery.
But Buffet on launching his children’s charitable trust in lieu of continuing to contribute to the five foundations after he dies.
The Nebraska billionaire has changed his will multiple times, but he told the Journal that he arrived at the current iteration after ‘seeing how his children matured over the years.’
Buffet’s daughter, Susie, is the oldest of the brood at 71. Like her father, she lives in Omaha, where she chairs the Sherwood Foundation – an organization that champions childhood education and social justice.
Susie also chairs the Susan Thompson Buffet Foundation, which is devoted to supporting reproductive rights and providing college scholarships.
Howie Buffet, 69, lives in Illinois, where he farms and leads the Howard G. Buffet Foundation, which is focused on food security, conflict mitigation, and curtailing human trafficking.
Along with his sister, Howie serves on the Berkshire board.
Peter Buffet, the youngest at 66, is a composer who lives near Kingston, New York. Along with his wife, Jennifer Buffet, he directs the NoVo Foundation, which has done work with indigenous communities.
‘I feel very, very good about the values of my three children, and I have 100 percent trust in how they will carry things out,’ Buffet said, proudly.
He added that after he dies, his children will have an obvious advantage over him in determining how to make the best use of his fortune.
‘I like to think I can think outside the box, but I’m not sure if I can think outside the box when it’s 6 feet below the surface and do a better job than three people who are on the surface who I trust completely.’