Warren Buffett to let his 3 children give away his $150 billion fortune: ‘Ruling from the grave doesn’t work’

According to his annual 'farewell' letter, Warren Buffett said he now plans to leave most of his remaining wealth to the charitable foundations run by his three children.

Rather than impose a rigid structure, Warren Buffett said he wants his children, now aged 72, 70, and 67, to have the freedom to direct their own giving (Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and philanthropist behind Berkshire Hathaway, has announced a major change in how his $150 billion fortune will be distributed after his death. In his annual ‘farewell’ letter, the 95-year-old said he now plans to leave most of his remaining wealth to the charitable foundations managed by his three children — allowing each to distribute roughly $500 million annually.

As reported by The Cool Down (TCD), Buffett admitted that his earlier vision for a single, unified philanthropic plan “did not prove feasible.” Reflecting on his decades of experience, he wrote, “During my many years, I’ve also watched ill-conceived wealth transfers by political hacks, dynastic choices and, yes, inept or quirky philanthropists.”

Rather than impose a rigid structure, Buffett said he wants his children — now aged 72, 70 and 67 — to have the freedom to direct their own giving. “Ruling from the grave does not have a great record, and I have never had an urge to do so,” he noted.

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He praised them as “at their prime in respect to experience and wisdom,” adding that “all three children now have the maturity, brains, energy and instincts to disburse a large fortune.”

“They may well need to adapt to a significantly changing world around them. Ruling from the grave does not have a great record, and I have never had an urge to do so,” he reiterated in the letter.

Buffett, who co-founded The Giving Pledge with Bill and Melinda Gates in 2010, reiterated his lifelong commitment to philanthropy but hinted he now plans to “go quiet” in the near future. The report added that he will retain a sizable portion of his Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares until his successor, Greg Abel, is fully established as CEO.

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To date, Buffett has donated more than $60 billion, most of it to the Gates Foundation. His latest round of giving includes $750 million in Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which provides scholarships for Nebraska students, and $250 million each to his children’s organisations — the Sherwood Foundation, led by daughter Susie, which focuses on improving life in Nebraska; the Howard G Buffett Foundation, which works on global food security, conflict mitigation and human trafficking; and the NoVo Foundation, managed by son Peter, supporting historically marginalised communities, TCD reported.