Howard Buffett explains how his childhood experiences influenced him to become a philanthropist.
In November, before the holiday season, the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett issued a surprise announcement to shareholders announcing updates on what will happen to his vast fortune after his death and offering some advice for others on how to transfer their wealth.
c a letter posted on the $1 trillion holding company’s website, Buffett, 94, announced he would donate about $1.1 billion of his Berkshire stock to his family’s four foundations and said his three children would be responsible for the gradual distribution of the remainder of his possessions after his death.
Famed investor Warren Buffett was joined by other philanthropists and influential businessmen named to Forbes’ 100 Greatest Business Minds during the Forbes Media Centennial Celebration at Pier 60 in New York on September 19, 2017. (Daniel Zuchnik/WireImage/Getty Images)
The tone of the letter suggests that the “Oracle of Omaha” feels his mortality.
“Father time always wins,” Buffett wrote. “But he can be fickle—indeed unjust and even cruel—sometimes ending his life at birth or soon after, while at other times he waits a century or so before visiting. I’ve been very lucky to date, but before long, it’s going to catch up to me.”
Buffett noted that his children, now ages 71, 69 and 66, may not live long enough to distribute his $150 billion fortune themselves, so three potential trustees have been named who could also to step in to help carry out his wishes to distribute his wealth to everyone after his death.
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He explained the reasoning behind his policy that all foundation decisions will be made unanimously, said he updates his will every few years and keeps it simple, and also offered some words of wisdom for others as they plan their own affairs.
“I have one more suggestion for all parents, whether of modest or staggering wealth,” he wrote. “When your children are of age, have them read your will before you sign it.”
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“Make sure each child understands both the logic of your decisions and the responsibilities they will assume after your death,” he continued. “If anyone has questions or suggestions, listen carefully and accept those that you think are reasonable. You don’t want your children asking ‘Why?’ regarding probate decisions when you are no longer able to answer.”
Buffett said that over the years he and a longtime business partner and friend Charlie Mungerwho died in November 2023, “saw many families scattered after posthumous dictates of wills left beneficiaries confused and sometimes angry.”
Warren Buffett, left, with longtime friend and business partner Charlie Munger, who died last year at age 99. (Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
He said that in these cases “jealousy, together with actual or imagined childhood insults, increases, especially when sons have been favored over daughters, either in money or in important positions.”
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“Charlie and I have also witnessed several cases where a wealthy parent’s will, which was fully discussed before death, helped bring the family closer together,” Buffett added. “What could be more satisfying?”
* This article was originally published in November 2024.
2024-12-25 14:00:44
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