Warren Buffett is now halfway to his goal of giving away his massive fortune, but even though he still has $ 100 billion to give, he is not planning to share it with his children.
The investment legend reiterated his old belief that his “incomprehensible” net worth would be better spent on philanthropic causes than on his children’s investment portfolios.
“After many observations of super-rich families, here is my recommendation: Let the children do as much as they can do everything, but not as much as they can do nothing,” he said in a note to shareholders, adding that his adult children pursue philanthropic endeavors involving money and time. ”
The 90-year-old says he has noticed that dynastic behavior, or the transfer of massive wealth from one generation of one family to another is less common in the US than in other countries, and that he believes his withdrawal is likely to decreases.
This is not to say that Buffett’s children, now in their 60s, have received nothing from their father. Each child has a $ 2 billion fund funded by Buffett, The Washington Post reported in 2014.
Buffett’s note announced that he had donated $ 4.1 billion of his Berkshire Hathaway stock to five charities as part of his effort to donate 99% of his fortune to the end of his life, bringing the total donation his to $ 41 billion.
Berkshire Hathaway CEO, who at one time was the richest man in the world and currently sits on a fortune worth more than $ 100 billion according to Forbes, plans to distribute his remaining 238,624 shares to philanthropic causes.
Buffett calls his philanthropy “the easiest work in the world” because “giving is painless and can lead to a better life for both you and your children.”
“For many decades I have amassed an almost incomprehensible amount simply by doing what I want to do,” he said. “I did not make any sacrifices, nor did my family. Compound interest, a long runway, wonderful collaborators and our incredible country just worked their magic. Society has a use for my money; I do not.”
Buffett first announced his plan to give up most of his fortune in 2006, when he was 75 and owned 474,998 shares of Berkshire Hathaway. In a recent announcement, the Omaha oracle said he was “halfway there.”
