OMAHA, Nebraska — The next generation of Buffetts — Howard, Susie and Peter — are poised to become one of the most powerful forces in economics. philanthropy when their 94-year-old father, the legendary businessman and leader of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffetteventually dies.
But it wasn’t always like this.
Buffett announced in June that he donate his fortunenow estimated at nearly $144 billion, to a charitable trust to be administered by his three children when he dies, rather than to the Gates Foundationas he indicated 18 years ago.
The next generation of Buffetts will then have 10 years to give away the money, Warren Buffett said.
Meanwhile, the elder Buffett continues to make huge annual donations to the Gates Foundation and his four family foundations, as he will continue to do for the rest of his life. He first mentioned plans for a new charity fund in november.
Howard Buffett told The Associated Press that he’s learned that what his father told him and his siblings about philanthropy is true: “It’s not that easy to give away money if you want to be smart about it, if you want to be intelligent about it.”
Howard, Buffett’s middle child, said his father is still as sharp as ever and that he hopes he lives a long time. He added: “It’s really amazing that he’s giving us this opportunity.”
Buffett has Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates with significant annual giving to their foundation since 2006 — a remarkable $43 billion to date.
“Rich people are reluctant to give their money to others to give away,” said James Ferris, founder of The Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy at the University of Southern California. But many of the wealthiest people are also reluctant to pass their fortunes on to the next generation because they fear it will stifle their ingenuity, he said.
Ferris sees the story of Buffett’s changing philanthropic intentions as positive. “It shows how a donor makes choices and adapts to circumstances,” he said.
The Gates Foundation did not say when it learned of Buffett’s decision or what impact it will have on its budget. Earlier, the foundation said in a statement that “Warren Buffett has been extraordinarily generous” and that he “has played an invaluable role in championing and shaping the foundation’s work to create a world where everyone can live healthy, productive lives.”
Over the years, Buffett gave the Gates Foundation large annual donations, but also donated billions to foundations run by his three children and a fourth family foundation. Their work offers some insight into the priorities of the next generation of Buffetts.
The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named after Warren Buffett’s first wife, is the largest in terms of donations. It supports organizations that provide reproductive health care and access to contraception and abortion around the world. Susie Buffett, 71, is the chairman of the board and Peter Buffett, 66, is a board member.
Susie Buffett also heads The Sherwood Foundation, a leading national foundation dedicated to early childhood development. She provides grants to organizations and projects in Omaha, Nebraska, the Buffetts’ hometown.
Peter Buffett’s NoVo Foundation is a major funder of organizations that stand up for girls’ and women’s autonomy and against gender-based violence. In 2020, Peter and his wife Jennifer decided to shift their focus and expand their support to Native American communities and projects to build sustainable, local communities with a focus on agriculture and food access.
The Howard G. Buffett Foundation focuses on conflict management and agriculture around the world. As of 2022, the foundation has donated about $800 million — more than most countries — to humanitarian initiatives in Ukraine during the country’s war with RussiaThese include supporting food distribution to schools, demining activities and the rebuilding of a major publishing company and a key bridge for the transport of grain.
In a relatively rare interview for a family that rarely makes time to talk to the media, Howard Buffett, 69, said he couldn’t predict exactly how he and his siblings would give away their father’s fortune. But he said they would continue to take risks and find ways to make the biggest difference when their father recommended.
“I can tell you that at the right time we will sit in a room and we will resolve it quickly,” he said, while acknowledging that the directive to donate all the money within 10 years was a challenge.
The siblings’ different mindsets and approaches are advantages, he said.
“What we’re going to do with this is bring together all of our collective experiences,” he said.
But don’t expect to see the family name on many buildings. The siblings largely avoid them, even though they’ve given away more than $15 billion of their father’s money since 2006.
Kathleen Enright, president and CEO of the Council on Foundations, said the Buffetts have truly turned philanthropy into a family business, with the next generation now made up of seasoned donors who have built enduring institutions through their foundations.
“It’s a big deal,” she said of the amount the Buffetts are about to give away, noting that because the fortune is likely to continue to grow, they will have to give away very visible amounts of money to spend it.
The tight time frame for giving away his fortune after his death reflects one of Warren Buffett’s longstanding conditions for receiving charitable funding. He has ordered the Gates Foundation and his family’s foundations to distribute the entire amount they receive within a year.
The next generation of Buffetts runs their foundations with small staffs, similar to the way Warren Buffett oversees his massive Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate with only about two dozen people at its Omaha headquarters.
Howard Buffett said his foundation has fewer than 10 staff members. It has awarded $458.1 million in 2023, according to tax documents. He acknowledged that his “small” staff puts some limits on their capacity, but said they have scaled their work by creating strong, lasting relationships with other organizations to help implement their ideas.
In contrast, the Gates Foundation has one of the largest donations at $75.2 billion, funded by donations from Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. It employs more than 2,000 people, many of them technical experts around the world, and is known for making highly targeted grants with strict reporting requirements. The foundation has said it will wind down its operations within 25 years of the deaths of its founders.
Howard Buffett said he likes a challenge and believes that wealthy people should generally give away their money during their lifetime rather than keeping it in perpetual funds.
“Somebody’s going to spend that money. Somebody’s going to give that money away,” he said. “So I would rather do it with my brother and sister and do it together, as a partnership, than have it done any other way.”
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