Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett is known not only for his successful investments but also for his philanthropic efforts - a tradition he has entrusted to his three children to continue.
The “Oracle of Omaha” confirmed this summer that his $144 billion fortune would be transferred to a charitable foundation that will be managed by his three children: Susan, Howard and Peter.
Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. Photo: Houston Cofield
Howard Buffett, Warren’s middle son, said giving money away isn’t as simple as it seems — especially if you want that money to have a real impact. While overseeing a multibillion-dollar foundation aimed at improving the world might seem like a dream job, Buffett has repeatedly warned that philanthropy isn’t easy, a point his children may now better understand.
“It’s not easy to give money away if you want to do it intelligently and meaningfully,” Howard Buffett said in an interview with the Associated Press last week.
He said he could not yet announce the specific causes the three brothers would focus their efforts on, but they would make a decision quickly once they took responsibility.
“When the time comes, we’ll sit down in a room and figure it out quickly,” he stressed. While family organizations often face challenges within powerful households, the businessman, who runs his own farm in Illinois, believes that working together with his siblings makes their business more successful.
“This will help us bring all of our experience together,” he said. “Someone will spend that money. Someone will give that money away. So I would rather do it with my brother and sister, together, as a partnership, than see it done the other way around.”
As the three brothers prepare for the challenge, Howard said his father remains healthy. He said Warren Buffett is as sharp as ever, adding: “It’s great that he’s giving us this opportunity.”
Overall, the launch of the new foundation led by the three Buffett brothers marks a shift in the philanthropy of another big name: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Over the past two decades, Buffett has donated nearly $40 billion to the organization run by the Microsoft co-founder and his ex-wife.
However, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal this summer, Buffett said the Gates Foundation “will not get any money after I die.”
The billionaires' relationship appears to be in tatters after the news. Gates told CNBC earlier this month that Buffett is a friend and hopes to continue working into his 90s as Berkshire CEO.
The change in Buffett's will also marks a shift in giving to established foundations related to his family. Instead of continuing to donate to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation (named after his wife), the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the NoVo Foundation — three charities run by his children — Buffett will transfer the money to a common foundation.
The famous investor was apparently impressed with his children's work and stipulated that the beneficiaries of this new fund must be agreed upon by all three children.
Dung Phan (According to Fortune)
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