Key Takeaways
- Warren Buffett pledged 10 million Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway, then worth about $36.1 billion, to the Gates Foundation in June 2006.
- Warren Buffett announced gifts in July 2026, nearly $6 billion in total, for four family foundations, not the Gates Foundation.
- Warren Buffett, then 95, plans to give his remaining Berkshire stock, worth about $140 billion, to four family foundations by December 31, 2034.
In July 2026, Warren Buffett, then 95, announced nearly $6 billion in Berkshire stock for four family foundations: the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the NoVo Foundation and the Sherwood Foundation. He also plans to give his remaining Berkshire stock, worth about $140 billion, by December 31, 2034. The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation was named to receive 9 million shares, worth roughly $4.5 billion, and each of the other three was named to receive 1 million shares, worth just under $500 million apiece. AOL, citing Fortune, reports that none of the nearly $6 billion in stock announced for those foundations in July went to the Gates Foundation. CNBC's calculations, as reported by InvestmentNews, show the Gates Foundation would have been due to receive shares worth close to $4.5 billion this cycle under the reduction schedule Buffett laid out.
Warren Buffett's amendment to a Schedule 13D, the SEC filing that reports beneficial ownership, filed with the SEC, reports that on June 30, 2025, he donated 9,433,839 shares of Class B Common Stock to the Gates Foundation Trust pursuant to his lifetime commitment. The same filing reports that on that date he donated 943,384 shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and 660,366 shares each to the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the NoVo Foundation. The Gates Foundation Trust's 9,433,839 shares that day were about ten times the 943,384 shares the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation received.
In June 2006, Buffett pledged 10 million Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway, one of the company's two share classes, to the Gates Foundation. Those shares were then worth about $36.1 billion, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy as reported by AOL. The Gates Foundation says Buffett's gifts to it total more than $47 billion, while Fortune put the figure at about $48 billion.
Buffett's 2034 plan and the July 2026 gifts
In his statement, as InvestmentNews printed it, Warren Buffett said: "My goal is to dispose of all of my Berkshire shares within about eight years." He also said: "Of course, mortality is unpredictable, but my remaining shares will be donated to the four foundations one way or the other by December 31, 2034." AOL, citing InvestmentNews, reported that the statement cited his children's ages and the unpredictability of life as reasons for the timeline.
The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named for Buffett's late first wife, was set to receive 9 million shares, worth roughly $4.5 billion. The Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the NoVo Foundation were each named to receive 1 million shares, worth just under $500 million apiece. AOL, citing Fortune, put the July total at nearly $6 billion.
The statement also sets a goal of annual grants that grow for each of the three foundations managed by Buffett's children, and a somewhat greater rate for the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation grant. After the transfer, Buffett's personal holdings stood at 188,290 Class A shares and 1,162 Class B shares, a stake that InvestmentNews said was still worth more than $140 billion. AOL put the remaining shares at about $140 billion.
The 2006 Gates Foundation pledge and its share count
AOL reported, citing the Chronicle of Philanthropy, that the June 2006 pledge was one of five Buffett made that year, and that the five pledges Buffett made that year, together, were worth more than $43.5 billion at the time. The number of shares Buffett gave each year grew after a 2010 stock split. By June 2023, Buffett had given the Gates Foundation nearly $39.3 billion, and across five foundations nearly $50.7 billion, the Chronicle tallied.
The 2006 pledge and its terms
InvestmentNews reported that the Gates Foundation received the bulk of Buffett's charitable stock for nearly two decades under a commitment he called irrevocable when he first made it in 2006. AOL, citing the Chronicle of Philanthropy, reported that the same pledge was set to continue as long as Bill or Melinda Gates was alive and active in the foundation. AOL also reported that Buffett's statement did not explicitly say why the Gates Foundation was left out.
People Also Ask
How much did Warren Buffett pledge to the Gates Foundation?
Warren Buffett pledged 10 million Class B Berkshire Hathaway shares to the Gates Foundation in June 2006, then worth about $36.1 billion. The Gates Foundation says Buffett's gifts total more than $47 billion.
How much Berkshire stock will Warren Buffett give away by 2034?
Warren Buffett plans to give away all of his remaining Berkshire shares, worth about $140 billion, by December 31, 2034. His statement says the remaining shares will go to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the NoVo Foundation and the Sherwood Foundation by that date, one way or the other.
Why did Warren Buffett leave the Gates Foundation out of his 2026 gifts?
AOL reported that Warren Buffett's statement did not explicitly say why the Gates Foundation was left out. Separately, InvestmentNews reports that in 2024 Buffett told the Wall Street Journal that the Gates Foundation would receive nothing from his estate. Neither AOL nor InvestmentNews reports a reason for leaving the Gates Foundation out in 2026. The Gates Foundation had received his stock gifts every year since 2006, and none of the nearly $6 billion announced in July 2026 went to the Gates Foundation.
Which four family foundations are receiving Warren Buffett's Berkshire stock?
The four family foundations are the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the NoVo Foundation and the Sherwood Foundation. Warren Buffett was set to donate 9 million Class B shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and 1 million each to the other three, according to AOL, citing Fortune.
Sources: AOL, InvestmentNews, SEC Schedule 13D amendment.