Warren Buffett donates over $1.3 billion in Berkshire shares to four family-run foundations

Warren Buffett is offloading another mountain of wealth, this time $1.3 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway shares, right as he gets ready to exit his role as CEO by the end of the year.

On Monday, the company said Warren would convert 1,800 Class A shares into 2.7 million Class B shares. From there, 1.5 million shares are heading straight to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, a charity named after his late wife.

The rest, 400,000 each, will go to the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation, all managed by Warren’s three children.

The donation was announced in what will be Warren’s last annual letter to shareholders. He’s been giving away large chunks of his stock since 2006, first to the Gates Foundation, then to foundations tied to his family.

Warren also co-founded the Giving Pledge with Bill and Melinda Gates, promising to give most of his fortune away either before or after death. But last year, he announced that the Gates Foundation won’t get anything more from him after he dies.

Instead, his daughter and sons will manage a new charitable trust to steer the money where they see fit.

Warren prepares to hand over to Greg Abel

Warren, who turns 96 soon, will finally step down as CEO at the end of this year. He named Greg Abel as the next in line, a move that’s been expected for years.

What makes this transition different is that Warren is also stepping away from the spotlight that’s followed his every word for decades.

He said in the Monday letter that he’s done writing the Berkshire annual reports, and he won’t speak at the shareholder meeting either. But one thing he’s keeping? That Thanksgiving letter he writes every year. That’s the only thing he says he’ll still send out.

Since 1965, Warren’s letters have been a main event for investors. The tone, the advice, even the jokes; all of it shaped how millions viewed investing, capitalism, and patience.

Warren became that rare thing in finance, a person people trusted even when he wasn’t doing much. And it wasn’t just because of his words. He made sure he was seen.

At the Berkshire Hathaway annual meetings, known as “Woodstock for capitalists,” Warren made appearances that fans lined up for. He’d grab Dairy Queen cones, sign merchandise, take photos, and keep security busy holding back crowds of shareholders hoping to get close.

Stock market climbs as Warren steps back

As Warren made headlines with his donation, the market was also reacting to something else. On Monday, U.S. stocks shot up after lawmakers in the Senate took a key step to avoid a long and messy government shutdown, with the market adding over $1 trillion by the closing bell.

The Dow rose 404 points, a jump of 0.9%. The S&P 500 gained 1.6%, and the Nasdaq surged 2.3%. The rally was fueled by AI stocks; Nvidia, Broadcom, and others that investors have bet big on.

Even Microsoft, which had been falling for eight straight days, finally turned green, adding nearly 1% and breaking its longest losing streak since 2011.

Last week, those same tech names were dragging the market lower. Wall Street was nervous about the high prices around the AI trade, and it showed. But now that there’s a path to avoid a shutdown, investors seem willing to jump back in.

And while Warren didn’t make any new investment moves on Monday, his name still ended up right in the middle of the day’s headlines… as usual.

The Oracle of Omaha may be “going quiet,” but clearly, he will forever still be making noise.

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