In 2006, Warren Buffett pledged to donate more than 99% of this fortune as part of his philanthropy effort. Over the past 15 years, he has donated about $2 billion worth in stocks to each of his three children’s foundations, The Washington Post reported.
The billionaire recently reiterated that his “incomprehensible” net worth is better served for charity rather than in his children’s pockets. “After much observation of super-wealthy families, here’s my recommendation: Leave the children enough so that they can do anything but not enough that they can do nothing,” Buffett said in a note to shareholders last month.
All three of his children – now in their mid-60s – pursue philanthropic efforts. Below we share where they donate a portion of their fortunes.
Peter Buffett: Where the money went
Peter Buffett, Warren’s youngest son, has invested big checks into revitalizaing Kingston, NY, an upstate town that sits on the Hudson River, according to The Wall Street Journal.
He and his wife founded the NoVo Foundation, which purchased $13 million worth of farmland and created a local agriculture lab. Peter, a musician, also helped fund an festival in the town where artists can exchange their work for free health care, according to the report.
Additionally, the foundation has repurposed old buildings and modernized them for charity: an old Honda dealership has been turned into a local food cooperative, and a local radio station has been turned into an ad-free, non-profit community broadcast, the paper said.
“I saw a lot of Anytown U.S.A. here,” he said. “It was not some precious bedroom community of New York. Kingston, as I got to know it, I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is a little town in Ohio.’”
The NoVo Foundation has also helped other causes like offering a hand to indigenous people and launched an initiative called “Move to End Violence” in 2010 to help end violence against girls and women.
Howard Buffett: Where the money went
Warren Buffet’s oldest son, Howard, started the Howard G. Buffett Foundation in 1999. The Herald & Review said the eldest son has donated millions of dollars in Macon County, Il.
He reportedly has funded a 17-acre Community Care Center, a million-dollar donation into the revitalization of the City of Decatur, the Children’s Museum of Illinois, and several other local donations in the state.
Susie Buffett: Where the money went
Meanwhile, Susie Buffett, his daughter, lives in Nebraska and heads The Sherwood Foundation, an organization that promotes equality through social justice initiatives in Nebraska.
The Los Angeles Times reported last year that she has given $1.3 billion to charitable orgaizations in Omaha and Nebraska through the foundation with money sent to Omaha public schools, where it was used for classrom teaching, professional development and teacher support.
