Warren Buffett Biography - Profile |
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Warren
Edward Buffett Biography :
Famous American Investor - Stock Market
Guru
Famous for :
The successful Berkshire Hathaway Company,
being one of the richest men in the world,
and for being a generous philanthropist.
Buffet details
: Born - August 30, 1930 Omaha,
Nebraska, USA
/ Lives - United States of America - Omaha
More Information
: Richest
Man in the World 2008
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Warren
Buffett has made history by becoming
the most generous philanthropist of all
time. The famous investor and CEO of Berkshire
Hathaway has announced in June 2006 that
he will be giving away much of his $44 billion.
Buffett has decided to give the bulk of
generous gift to the foundation of his Bridge
partner and friend of 15 years, Bill
Gates. The Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation will receive
an extra $1.5 billion annually from Buffett,
doubling the total budget of the foundation.
 The
75 year old billionaire and second richest
man in the world had previously planned
to give his fortune away after his death.
He had hoped that his wife Susan Buffett
would someday inherit his fortune to distribute
through the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation.
With the untimely death of "Susie"
in 2004, Buffett was forced to rethink his
plans. In an interview with Fortune magazine
Buffett said that, "Susie was two
years younger than I, and women usually
live longer than men. She and I always assumed
that she would inherit my Berkshire stock
and be the one who oversaw the distribution
of our wealth to society, where both of
us had always said it would go."
Buffett separated from his wife Susan in
1977, but remained married even though they
lived separate lives. The couple had three
children together and remained close up
until her death. The frugal billionaire
had no intentions of leaving the bulk of
his billions to his children as he felt
it would be more of a burden than a blessing
to them. He once remarked that "I want
to give my kids enough so that they could
feel that they could do anything, but not
so much that they could do nothing."
Five foundations will now receive the bulk
of Warren Buffett's billions. They will
receive 5% of the designated funds in 2006
and a further 5% each year until the passing
of Buffett or until conditions are no longer
met by the foundations. The donations will
be given in the form of Berkshire Hathaway
stock held by Buffett. He currently only
holds Berkshire Hathaway A shares, but will
give the gifts in the form of Berkshire
B shares.
The foundations include "Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation"
which will receive 10 million shares, "Susan
Thompson Buffett Foundation" to
receive 1 million shares, "Susan A.
Buffett Foundation" to receive 350,000
shares, "Howard G. Buffett Foundation"
to receive 350,000 shares, and the "NoVo
Foundation" (Peter A. Buffett) will
also receive 350,000 shares.
Buffett chose to give the bulk of his fortune
to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
because he is so impressed by the work that
Bill Gates has been doing with the organization.
The Gates couple and Buffett have been good
friends for the past 15 years. The commitment
is currently valued at about $31 billion
American dollars, making it one of the largest
donations ever to be given. This will be
used at the rate of about $1.5 billion each
year.
When asked about why he chose to give much
of his fortune to the Gates Foundation,
Buffett said "What can be more logical,
in whatever you want done, than finding
someone better equipped than you are to
do it? Who wouldn't select Tiger Woods to
take his place in a high-stakes golf game?
That's how I feel about this decision about
my money."
This June also saw Bill Gates announcing
that he would be taking on fewer responsibilities
at Microsoft, before committing himself
completely to the Gates Foundation within
the next couple of years. The richest man
in the world will soon be using the drive
and ambition that has created one of the
most successful technology companies in
the world to eliminating poverty, improving
education worldwide, and for fighting health
problems.
With the power of a small country and the
business intelligence of Bill Gates, the
Buffett billions will be sure to make a
difference in the world.
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