Summary
Warren Buffett gave $1.1 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock to family foundations and detailed plans for distributing his $147 billion fortune after his death.
His three children will oversee giving the remainder within 10 years, with designated successors in case they predecease him.
Buffett, 94, reaffirmed his belief in avoiding dynastic wealth, favoring philanthropy instead.
Over the years, he has donated $55 billion to the Gates Foundation but plans to shift focus to his family’s foundations.
Buffett continues leading Berkshire Hathaway while preparing Greg Abel as his successor.
The trouble is that billionaires who remain sympathetic to Carnegie’s “gospel of wealth” are vanishing, while narcissists who see themselves as American oligarchs are proliferating. It isn’t hard to see how dynasties could be more politically powerful on a long timescale.
Many would call this a natural progression, and for my part I don’t envy whoever ends up on the other side of that debate - money being the root of all evil.