Billionaire Warren Buffett signed over much of his $44 billion fortune Monday to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, uniting the world's two richest people in a bid to fight disease, reduce poverty and improve education.

 

The roughly $30.7 billion donation doubles the Gates Foundation's size to $60 billion, five times larger than any other U.S. charitable group and larger than the gross domestic product of Kuwait.

 

Bill Gates, the world's richest man, co-founded and remains chairman of giant software company Microsoft. His friend Buffett, 75 and the world's second-richest man, built his fortune running Berkshire Hathaway, an insurance and investment company.

 

"I am not an enthusiast for dynastic wealth, particularly when the alternative is 6 billion people having much poorer hands in life than we have," Buffett said at a signing ceremony with the Gateses at the New York Public Library's main branch.

 

Gates, 50, said earlier that he plans in July 2008 to step down from his day-to-day Microsoft role to focus on his foundation, one of the goals of which is to improve access to technology in U.S. public libraries.

 

Buffett pledged 10 million Berkshire Class B shares (BRKB) to the Gates Foundation. He also pledged 2.05 million Class B shares to foundations in the name of his late wife, Susan, who died in 2004, and for his three children, Susie, Howard and Peter.

 

The total donations of about $37.1 billion amount to roughly 85% of Buffett's net worth, and constitute the largest single act of U.S. charitable giving ever.

 

Buffett made the donations fewer than four months after he said Berkshire's board had identified a successor for him.

 

Gifts to the Gates Foundation will be made in stages, and are conditioned on money being distributed the year it is donated.

 

The foundation gave away $1.36 billion in 2005, so Buffett's first gift of $1.5 billion, in July, may double its spending.

 

"This is his life's work," Gates said at the ceremony. "Now that the money (in the foundation) is going to be as much Warren's as the money my job helped generate, it's almost scary."

 

He prompted laughter when he added: "If I make a mistake with my money, it doesn't feel the same."

 

Time magazine named the Gateses and Irish singer Bono of the band U2 its "Persons of the Year" for 2005, citing their charitable and philanthropic pursuits.

 

"I've watched Bill and Melinda Gates for a number of years," Buffett said. "It was clear that an outstanding mind with the right goals was focusing intensely with passion (and) heart on improving the lot of mankind."

 

Both Buffett and Gates emphasized the importance of keeping philanthropy separate from Berkshire's day-to-day operations.

 

Buffett's donations of Berkshire shares means the ultimate value of his gifts will be tied to the company's share price.

 

"I would be surprised, disappointed, if we can't manage Berkshire well enough so the increase on value, on average, (isn't) more than 5% a year." Buffett said.

 

Berkshire owns large stakes in such blue-chip companies as American Express and Coca-Cola and owns some 50 businesses, including Dairy Queen ice cream, Fruit of the Loom underwear and Geico auto insurance.

 

Berkshire shares have lagged the Standard & Poor 500 index over the last two years, but have far outgained that benchmark since Buffett took over Berkshire, then a struggling textile maker, in 1965.

 

The shares fell as much as 2.9% on Monday as investors looked toward Buffett's eventual retirement, and the possible sale by the foundations of Berkshire stock to help fund giving.

 

"Those who are selling haven't thought this through," said Thomas Russo, a principal at Gardner, Russo & Gardner, which owns Berkshire stock. "Warren will no longer have to distract himself with charitable donations, and can focus on the company."

 

Buffett pledged $3.1 billion in shares for a charitable foundation in the name of his late wife Susan Thompson Buffett, who died in 2004 at age 72, and whom he originally expected to manage his estate. The Buffetts' three children's charitable foundations each received additional pledges of $1.1 billion each.

 

"We haven't seen somebody live and give at this scale ? and at this pace ? before," said Claire Costello, a charitable giving consultant to wealthy individuals, who formerly directed the Philanthropic Advisory Service at Citigroup Private Bank, where Buffett is a client.

 

Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, credited as prudent Buffett's decision to forgo establishing a charitable foundation in his own name although it is a departure from the legacies of such titans as Rockefeller, Carnegie, Mellon and even Gates, whose names live on through their philanthropies.

 

"Part of giving away money is you make mistakes along the way," said Palmer. She credits the Gates Foundation with establishing global competencies in health and educational grant giving, enabling Buffett to avoid squandering his wealth while bequeathing it.

 

However, Palmer cautioned, "There are also people concerned about this clustering of power and money in the hands of a very small organization."

 

Buffett is expected to join the foundation as a trustee. In a statement, Bill and Melinda Gates said they were "awed" and "humbled" by Buffett's gift and invested with "a profound sense of responsibility."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-0...t-charity_x.htm

It makes Ted Turner's billion-dollar donation a few years ago look small by comparison.

 

It's good to see guys like Gates and Buffett giving back to the world that they have both conquered.

Wow. That is a hell of a gift.

 

You can't spend it all anyways, but to give that much to charity is amazing.

.......and one hec of a tax write off.

I know it's easy to have 10+ billion left over, but that money is going to do an incredible amount of good and it's a very nice gesture on his part.

Buffet and Gates should just have used the money to buy Kuwait. :mischief

there are some very high profile people doing some really amazing things recently in this world.

 

 

bravo to them.

 

 

i'd love to be in their position to be able to be such an important agent of change in this world and make every attempt possible to leave this world better than when I got here.

 

More people should follow this philosophy.

This is what its all about. The people who make the big bucks donating to charities and helping those less fortunate. This is the way its meant to be, not government keeping the middle class from advancing because of huge tax burdens on those trying to strike it rich through hard work.

Awesome.

 

Now, let's see what all these billions do to end world hunger and poverty.

This is what its all about. The people who make the big bucks donating to charities and helping those less fortunate. This is the way its meant to be, not government keeping the middle class from advancing because of huge tax burdens on those trying to strike it rich through hard work.

 

:thumbup

This is what its all about. The people who make the big bucks donating to charities and helping those less fortunate. This is the way its meant to be, not government keeping the middle class from advancing because of huge tax burdens on those trying to strike it rich through hard work.

 

:thumbup

The irony that Buffet absolutely disagrees with both of you.

 

Mr Buffett, worth some $40bn, said he disagreed profoundly with Mr Bush's tax cuts for rich people like him.

"He (Bush) just has a different political philosophy than I do," Mr Buffett told the BBC.

Mr Buffett is pragmatic and endorses individuals and policies rather than parties.

 

....

 

Not 'a good idea'

 

"In tax, policies have been tilted very much towards the rich, and I think that when the tax cuts took place they should have been far more for the middle class and people in poor economic status," Mr Buffett said.

 

"Instead, I got... more money in my pocket because of the tax change and I don't think it's a good idea," he added.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3679627.stm

 

 

 

Yup, the middle class is being held down by taxes on the wealthy, but not on the federal policies that favor bankers, credit card companies, loan companies, heavy federal spending spending, higher healthcare costs all at the massive expense of the middle class.

Warren Buffett is a great guy.

 

 

there are far too few of the rich that take any real effort to give back to this world that made them so insanely rich *cough*Walton family *cough*

 

 

Props to people like Buffett, Gates and Bono along with so many others using their fame and status to work to make this world truly better.

Warren Buffett is a great guy.

 

 

there are far too few of the rich that take any real effort to give back to this world that made them so insanely rich *cough*Walton family *cough*

 

 

Props to people like Buffett, Gates and Bono along with so many others using their fame and status to work to make this world truly better.

 

Agreed. It was a bygone era of social responsibility. Really rare in this day and age.

Warren Buffett is a great guy.

 

 

there are far too few of the rich that take any real effort to give back to this world that made them so insanely rich *cough*Walton family *cough*

 

 

Props to people like Buffett, Gates and Bono along with so many others using their fame and status to work to make this world truly better.

 

 

Action instead of talk is always such a great thing.

This is what its all about. The people who make the big bucks donating to charities and helping those less fortunate. This is the way its meant to be, not government keeping the middle class from advancing because of huge tax burdens on those trying to strike it rich through hard work.

 

:thumbup

The irony that Buffet absolutely disagrees with both of you.

 

Mr Buffett, worth some $40bn, said he disagreed profoundly with Mr Bush's tax cuts for rich people like him.

"He (Bush) just has a different political philosophy than I do," Mr Buffett told the BBC.

Mr Buffett is pragmatic and endorses individuals and policies rather than parties.

 

....

 

Not 'a good idea'

 

"In tax, policies have been tilted very much towards the rich, and I think that when the tax cuts took place they should have been far more for the middle class and people in poor economic status," Mr Buffett said.

 

"Instead, I got... more money in my pocket because of the tax change and I don't think it's a good idea," he added.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3679627.stm

 

 

 

Yup, the middle class is being held down by taxes on the wealthy, but not on the federal policies that favor bankers, credit card companies, loan companies, heavy federal spending spending, higher healthcare costs all at the massive expense of the middle class.

 

Doesn;t matter what his political stances are. The donation of that fortune to charity is what my political stance is all about. My response wasn't about "I agree with everything buffest doe sor says" it was merely congratulating him for his current action, and regardless of what buffet thinks, if more rich ppl donated to charity there would be absolutely no argument for maintaining any type of govt welfare programs