Buffett fortune for charity, via Gates

Warren E Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc and one of the world8217;s wealthiest men, plans to donate the bulk of his 44 billion fortune to the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation and four other philanthropies starting in July.

Warren E Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc and one of the world8217;s wealthiest men, plans to donate the bulk of his 44 billion fortune to the Bill 038; Melinda Gates Foundation and four other philanthropies starting in July.

The donations, outlined in a series of letters that Buffett released on Sunday, represent historic act of charitable giving that vaults him into the top tier of industrialists and entrepreneurs like Andrew Carnegie, John D Rockefeller Sr, Henry Ford, J Paul Getty, W K Kellogg, and Gates himself, all men whose fortunes have endowed some of the world8217;s richest private foundations.

Buffett plans to give away 85 per cent of his fortune, or about 37.4 billion, all in Berkshire stock. Of that amount, he will channel about 31 billion into the Gates Foundation.

The Gates Foundation, dedicated to improving health and education, especially in poor nations, is already US8217; largest grant-making foundation, with current assets of almost 30 billion.

Buffett8217;s contribution may permanently solidify that philanthropy8217;s standing as the biggest and most influential organisation of its kind. He will join the Gates as a trustee of their foundation.

The immense size of the assets at the disposal of the Gates Foundation as a result of the partnership is apparent when compared with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which had a budget of 610 million for 2004-05.

The Gates Foundation made 1.36 billion in grant payments in 2005; at a minimum, Buffett8217;s contribution may eventually allow the foundation to more than double that amount annually.

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Buffett8217;s contribution will not be made all at once, but rather in smaller annual increments. Moreover, the distribution could change in an as-yet unspecified way if Buffett dies before the entire sum is paid. The terms of the donation also require the continued active participation of at least one of the Gateses for the payments to continue.

The second-largest charitable foundation in the country is the Ford Foundation, with an endowment of 11.6 billion.8212;TIMOTHY L O8217;BRIEN 038; STEPHANIE SAUL