Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett has announced his annual donation to charity, a sum of around $2.9 billion to be spread mostly amongst five charities. The billionaire investor has famously pledged to donate 99% of his fortune in his lifetime, with his donations now totaling over $37 billion since 2006.
The latest donation consists of 15.9 million Class B shares in Berkshire.
Buffett, 89, still owns nearly 249,000 Class A shares in his famed holding company, worth around $67.5 billion. Prior to embarking on annual philanthropic efforts, Buffett held nearly 475,000 Class A shares, which would have been worth an estimated $129 billion today. His largest donation was made last year, $3.61 billion, at a point when the company’s stock price was higher than it is now.
As of Wednesday, Forbes estimates Buffett’s net worth to be $71.8 billion, making him the fourth wealthiest person in the world, behind only Bernard Arnault, Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos.
Most of Buffett’s donations are split between five charitable outfits: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations, one founded by Susan Thompson Buffett, his first wife who passed away in 2004, and three others run by one of his three sons each.
