Warren Buffett takes big decision, donates Rs 51000 crore in Berkshire Shares to..., reason is...

Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has made his biggest annual donation yet, giving away $6 billion worth of company shares to five major charities. This is part of his long-standing promise to donate most of his fortune to philanthropy—a journey he began back in 2006. Now 94 years old, Buffett donated a total of 9.43 million Berkshire shares to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He also gave 943,384 shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named after his late wife. Additionally, he donated 660,366 shares to the charities led by his three children: the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation.

This donation follows similar large contributions in the past, including $5.3 billion last June and $1.14 billion in November. Even after this latest donation, Buffett remains one of the world’s richest people. His net worth was estimated at $152 billion before the donation, ranking him fifth in the world according to Forbes. He is now expected to move to the sixth spot. Despite the donations, he still owns 13.8% of Berkshire Hathaway and has stated he doesn’t plan to sell any of his shares.

Buffett has led Berkshire Hathaway since 1965 and turned it into one of the most successful companies in the world. The return on its Class A shares has been over 5.8 million percent—far above the roughly 40,000% gain of the S&P 500 in the same period. He is known for his wise investment advice, including his famous quote: “It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.”

Buffett has also planned for the future of his fortune. Last year, he updated his will to ensure that 99.5% of his remaining wealth will go to charity through a family-run trust. His children will have ten years after his death to distribute the funds, and they must all agree on where the money goes.