Warren Buffett to donate $2.6 billion to philanthropies
Warren Buffett, the billionaire investment guru known as the Oracle of Omaha, is donating about $2.6 billion in stocks to five charities as part of a plan to give away the bulk of his wealth before he dies.
The chairman and chief executive of investment firm Berkshire Hathaway has watched his fortune soar this year as the company’s stock jumped more than 25%. In March, Forbes magazine pegged his wealth at $53.5 billion.
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The bulk of the annual donation, about $2 billion, went to the Gates Foundation, the philanthropic organization set up by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Buffett also donated millions to his own foundation and the charitable organizations set up by his three children.
Along with Bill Gates, Buffett was one of the originators of the Giving Pledge, which encourages the wealthiest people in the world to commit to giving away most of their riches to philanthropy during their lifetime or at their death. At least 105 of the world’s uber-wealthy have joined this select group.
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