Warren Buffett has made his largest-ever annual donation, giving away $6 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Gates Foundation and four family-led charities. The donation, made on Friday, June 28, 2025, brings Buffett’s total charitable giving to over $60 billion since 2006.
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This year’s gift included 12.36 million Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway. Of that, 9.43 million shares went to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The rest were split among:
- Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation (943,384 shares)
- Howard G. Buffett Foundation
- Sherwood Foundation
- NoVo Foundation (each receiving 660,366 shares)
These three foundations are managed by his children, Howard, Susie, and Peter Buffett.
Despite the donation, Buffett still owns 13.8% of Berkshire’s stock. With a net worth of $152 billion before the donation, he was ranked the fifth-richest person in the world. After the gift, he now ranks sixth, according to Forbes.
Buffett, 94, began his philanthropy journey in 2006. Last year, he revised his will to dedicate 99.5% of his remaining wealth to a charitable trust, to be managed and disbursed by his children over a ten-year period after his death.
Each of the family foundations focuses on different causes:
- Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation: Reproductive health
- Howard G. Buffett Foundation: Global hunger, human trafficking, and conflict resolution
- Sherwood Foundation: Education and Nebraska-based nonprofits
- NoVo Foundation: Girls’ and women’s rights, and indigenous communities
Buffett also confirmed that donations to the Gates Foundation will stop upon his death.
Since 1965, he has led Berkshire Hathaway, a $1.05 trillion conglomerate with nearly 200 businesses, including Geico and BNSF Railway, and holds large stakes in Apple and American Express.
