Warren Buffett donates $1.1 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock, details succession plan for $147 bn fortune

Warren Buffett, the 94-year-old billionaire investor and one of the world’s most respected philanthropists, has donated $1.1 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock to four family foundations as part of his longstanding plan to give away the bulk of his fortune. In a letter to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett also outlined the succession plan for his $147 billion fortune.

The chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway converted 1,600 Class A shares into 2.4 million Class B shares, distributing 1.5 million shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named for his late wife, and 300,000 shares each to the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation.

The move reduces Buffett’s holdings of Berkshire Class A shares to 206,363, down 56.6% since he pledged in 2006 to donate nearly all his wealth to philanthropic causes.

Buffett reiterated his belief that children of wealthy parents should receive enough "so they can do anything but not enough that they can do nothing."

His three children—Susie Buffett, Howard Buffett, and Peter Buffett—have been tasked with managing and eventually disbursing his Berkshire shares after his death.

"Still, the massive wealth I’ve collected may take longer to deploy than my children live. And tomorrow’s decisions are likely to be better made by three live and well-directed brains than by a dead hand," he wrote.

To prepare for that scenario, Buffett has designated three younger potential trustees, though he hopes his children will complete the task. He stopped short of revealing their identity.

"Each is well known to my children and makes sense to all of us. They are also somewhat younger than my children. But these successors are on the wait list. I hope Susie, Howie and Peter themselves disburse all of my assets."