Full Breakdown
Buffett Accelerates Billion-Dollar Berkshire Share Donation to Family Foundations
7/20/2026, 5:53:42 AM
Core Donation Details
On July 14, Warren Buffett announced the conversion of 8,000 Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares into 12 million Class B shares, which he will donate to four family-linked foundations. The shares, valued at roughly $5.9 billion (about $490 per Class B share), will be allocated as follows: 9 million to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, and 1 million each to the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation. Buffett, who retired as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, reiterated his goal to dispose of all his Berkshire holdings—currently worth about $140 billion—by December 31 2034, distributing roughly $17 billion per year in grants.
Background and Shift Away from the Gates Foundation
Since 2006 Buffett had directed several billion dollars annually to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, reasoning that an existing effective charity made a separate foundation unnecessary. Over that period he donated more than $47 billion. This year, however, he excluded the Gates Foundation from his latest transfer, citing concerns over Bill Gates’s disclosed connection to Jeffrey Epstein. Buffett told CNBC’s Becky Quick that he has not spoken with Gates “at all since the whole thing was unveiled” and will not resume dialogue “until it gets cleared up.”
Official Statements
Buffett’s July 14 release emphasized the timeline, noting, “As I explained last year, my children are unfortunately growing older. I have every hope that the three of them are able to carry out the disposal of my shares by Dec. 31 2034.” He added that the annual grant to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation will grow at a “somewhat greater rate” than the others.
Criticism & Opposition
Commentators have highlighted the Gates-Epstein link as the catalyst for Buffett’s shift, suggesting that reputational risk prompted the change. No formal accusations have been made against Gates, who has denied wrongdoing while acknowledging past “foolish” associations.
Verbatim Quotes
- “My goal is to dispose of all of my Berkshire shares within about eight years.” — Warren Buffett
- “at all since the whole thing was unveiled,” — Warren Buffett
- “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.” — Warren Buffett
- “My pledge: More than 99% of my wealth will go to philanthropy during my lifetime or at death.” — Warren Buffett
