As in previous years, Buffett’s gift was to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, plus a few other charitable foundations connected to his own family. These include the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, an educational foundation named after Buffett’s late wife, his daughter’s Sherwood Foundation, his son’s Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation, led by his youngest son Peter. By giving away these 18,750,000 Class B shares to charity, Buffett is continuing his practice of having “never sold any shares of Berkshire,” and the press release states that more than 40 percent of Buffett’s holdings since 2006 have already been given away to these groups. In total, the value of his gifted shares at the time they were given comes to $27.54 billion, spread out among these five charitable organizations. And that’s just a head start against Buffett’s ultimate plans for his wealth, as the press release states: 170 of Buffett’s fellow billionaires have also signed his The Giving Pledge, agreeing to give away the majority of their wealth to the charitable causes of their choice.
