Warren Buffett redirects $6 B in stock to family foundations

Warren Buffett has ended his nearly two-decade philanthropic partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, redirecting billions of dollars in annual charitable donations to foundations run by his own family. The 95-year-old chairman of Berkshire Hathaway announced on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, that he is donating 12 million Class B shares of the company, valued at roughly $6 billion, to four family-linked foundations.

The shares will be divided among the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the Novo Foundation, which are overseen by his daughter Susie and sons Howard and Peter. Buffett also reaffirmed his plan to transfer all of his remaining Berkshire shares to these same foundations by December 31, 2034.

The Gates Foundation, which has been the primary beneficiary of Buffett’s annual stock gifts since 2006, was conspicuously absent from this year’s announcement. Over the past two decades, Buffett has donated more than $47 billion worth of Berkshire stock to the foundation, making him its largest outside donor. Last year’s contribution alone exceeded $4.5 billion.

The change follows renewed scrutiny of the Gates...