On the eve of Thanksgiving, which symbolizes family reunion in the United States, 93 year old "stock god" Buffett donated nearly $870 million worth of Berkshire Hathaway stock to four family foundations.
Buffett also wrote a rare letter to Berkshire's shareholders, reiterating that he would donate over 99% of his wealth to charitable organizations and have his children serve as executors. He also stated that even without his supervision, the company would withstand the test of time and have a suitable board of directors and CEO to replace him.
Currently, Greg Abel, a 61 year old vice chairman in charge of non insurance business at Berkshire, has been appointed as Buffett's successor, taking over as CEO. And Buffett's son, Howard Buffett, will become the non-executive chairman.
In this letter, Buffett supplemented his physical condition with parentheses: "At 93 years old, I feel good, but I am also fully aware that I am playing extra time
Give investors reassurance
Buffett is the fifth richest person in the world, with a wealth of approximately $120.5 billion. In 2006, Buffett made a promise to donate most of his wealth to charity. As of the middle of this year, Buffett's total charitable donations have exceeded $50 billion.
Most of Buffett's wealth was accumulated through the Berkshire company he had been operating since 1965. At present, the company has grown into a diversified holding company. Its subsidiaries cover multiple fields such as insurance, energy, transportation, manufacturing, and retail. Some of the more famous subsidiaries include GEICO, BNSF, and Clayton Homes.
In addition, Berkshire also holds a large number of shares in other companies, such as Apple, American Express, Bank of America, Chevron, Coca Cola, HP, and Moody's. Buffett is known for value investing when choosing stocks, and he likes to look for companies that are undervalued but have long-term growth potential.
Berkshire's stock price hit a historic high in September this year and has risen nearly 17% so far this year.
In the short term, the distinctive characteristics and behavior of Berkshire are due to my significant stake in Berkshire. However, it won't be long before Berkshire gains the reputation it deserves, "Buffett said in a letter to shareholders, All types of large institutions, whether government agencies, charitable organizations, or profit seeking organizations, may experience decline. However, this is not inevitable. Berkshire's advantage is that it has been continuously developing
Donated to four family foundations
This time, Buffett stated in a regulatory document that he donated 1.5 million Berkshire B-shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation. The foundation is named after Buffett's deceased first wife and is dedicated to working in the field of reproductive health. He also donated 300000 B-shares to each of the three foundations run by his children, namely the Howard Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation, and Novo Foundation.
Buffett's three children are his executors and designated trustees of a charitable trust that will receive almost all of Buffett's wealth.
Buffett said, "My children and their fathers share a common belief that although huge wealth is legal and common in many parts of the world, including the United States, it is not what we aspire to. In addition, we have many opportunities to observe that wealth does not make people wise or evil