Buffett Pledges to Dispose of $140 Billion Berkshire Stake by 2034 as Donations Skip Gates Foundation
Updated
Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 15
Buffett Pledges to Dispose of $140 Billion Berkshire Stake by 2034 as Donations Skip Gates Foundation
3 articles · Updated · Bloomberg · Jul 15
Summary
$140 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock will be fully given away by 2034, Buffett said, setting an end date for disposing of his remaining stake.
Tuesday's new donations again went to charities tied to his family and excluded the Gates Foundation, a break from a pattern that had lasted for decades.
Buffett has donated about $47 billion since 2006 and has increasingly said he trusts his children to direct more of his philanthropy.
The omission follows Buffett's earlier split with Bill Gates' charity after two decades of annual gifts, adding a broader succession plan to a philanthropy shift already underway.
With Buffett's exit and a 2045 sunset plan, what fills the void the Gates Foundation will leave behind?
As Buffett's family foundations absorb billions, will they face the same intense public scrutiny as the Gates Foundation?
Warren Buffett Pauses $43 Billion Gates Foundation Giving Over Epstein Ties: Repercussions for Global Philanthropy
Overview
In mid-2026, Warren Buffett made headlines by pausing his annual charitable stock gifts to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, breaking a two-decade tradition and a pledge he made in 2006. Instead, he redirected all his 2026 donations—totaling millions of Berkshire Hathaway shares—to four family-linked foundations. This shift comes as Buffett, now 95, aims to accelerate his giving while his children can still oversee the process. The Gates Foundation, which has received over $43 billion from Buffett since 2006, now faces a significant change in its funding landscape and must navigate the impact of this unprecedented decision.