Warren Buffett, 93, donates $866m of stock to charity but reassures public: ‘I feel good’

Legendary investor also says his three children ‘are executors of my current will’

File photo: Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks during a game of bridge following the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in 2019 (AP)

Warren Buffett has donated more than $866m in Berkshire Hathaway stock to four family foundations and said his children will be the executors of his current will.

In a letter to his shareholders on Tuesday, the 93-year-old legendary investor said he gave the donations to charities run by his children.

“They supplement certain of the lifetime pledges I made in 2006 and that continue until my death (at 93, I feel good but fully realize I am playing in extra innings),” he said in the statement.

The donations include 1.5 million shares given to The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation – named after his late first wife – and 300,000 shares each to the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G Buffett Foundation and NoVo Foundation.

The donations complement the $759m worth of Berkshire stock that Mr Buffett contributed to charities around the same time last year, right before the Thanksgiving Day holiday.

“My three children are the executors of my current will as well as the named trustees of the charitable trust that will receive 99 per cent-plus of my wealth pursuant to the provisions of the will,” Mr Buffet said in the letter.

“They were not fully prepared for this awesome responsibility in 2006, but they are now.”

The veteran investing icon assured Berkshire shareholders that the empire he built over the last six decades will endure the trials of time, even without his oversight.

“In the short-term, Berkshire’s distinctive characteristics and behaviour will be supported by my large Berkshire holdings,” he said.

“Before long, however, Berkshire will earn whatever reputation it then deserves.

“Decay can occur at all types of large institutions, whether governmental, philanthropic or profit-seeking. But it is not inevitable.

“Berkshire’s advantage is that it has been built to last.”

Greg Abel, serving as the vice chairman for non-insurance operations at Berkshire, has been designated as Mr Buffett’s successor and Berkshire’s next chief executive.

Mr Buffett expressed admiration for Mr Abel, saying he had assumed a majority of the responsibilities at Berkshire.