Since 2006, Warren Buffett, the Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) head known as the “Oracle of Omaha” due to his sage investment decisions, has steadily given away his 12-figure fortune. But 2023 is turning into an unprecedented year of charitable contributions for the business magnate, who is donating an additional $27 million after making his largest-ever philanthropic gift earlier this year.
For the past 17 years, Buffett’s donations have been pretty predictable. The centibillionaire has long given an algorithmically determined amount of Berkshire Hathaway shares to the same five foundations each year, with his 2023 donations, announced earlier this year, totaling a record $4.6 billion. But in a move that suggests the Berkshire Hathaway CEO is ramping up on his long-standing pledge to give away the majority of his wealth, Buffett is now donating an additional batch of company shares to an undisclosed nonprofit falling outside of his regular donees.
According to a recent SEC filing, Buffett, who turns 93 later this month, transferred 50 Class A shares to a “charitable organization” on August 15. The donation of the shares, valued at nearly $27 million, leaves him with 218,000 Class A shares, contributing to his estimated net worth of $118 billion, as calculated by Forbes. Berkshire Hathaway did not respond to requests for information about the recipient of the recent donation.
The unexpected gift follows Buffett’s largest donation to date, which saw 13.7 million Berkshire Hathaway B shares flow toward the donor’s usual foundations in June. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation received the largest portion, followed by the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation (founded by Buffett in 1964 and later renamed after his late wife Susan), and the Sherwood, Howard G. Buffett and NoVo Foundations, respectively run by the billionaire’s children, Susan, Howard and Peter. The latter commitments are “the ultimate endorsements in my kids, and the ultimate statement that my kids don’t want to be dynastically wealthy,” Buffett told CNBC in 2022.
The five organizations have been the primary recipients of the more than $50 billion donated by Buffett to date. As described in his initial pledge letters to the foundations, each nonprofit receives five percent less in Berkshire Hathaway stock each year. But due to the rising value of the stock, the annual contributions have inversely risen in value. “The mathematics of the lifetime commitments to the five foundations are interesting,” said Buffett in a letter penned for a Berkshire Hathaway press release.
Why is Warren Buffett ramping up his donations?
While his recent mysterious donation is unusual, it supports the nonagenarian’s plan to give away most of his money to charity. In the 2023 letter discussing his annual donations, Buffett noted that his will dictates that 99 percent of his wealth will go to philanthropic causes either during his lifetime or after his death. He has long pushed other billionaires to follow suit, launching the Giving Pledge with Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates in 2010, a campaign that urges the wealthy to donate more than half their fortunes to charity. The campaign has since amassed 241 signees.
In his founding Giving Pledge letter, Buffett said he “couldn’t be happier” with his decision to give away all his Berkshire Hathaway stock to philanthropic foundations. “I’ve worked in an economy that rewards someone who saves the lives of others on a battlefield with a medal, rewards a great teacher with thank-you notes from parents, but rewards those who can detect the mispricing of securities with sums reaching into the billions.”
