Warren Buffett donates nearly $900 million to charities before Thanksgiving (2024)

FAQs

Warren Buffett donates nearly $900 million to charities before Thanksgiving? ›

The famed investor donated close to $900 million worth of his company's stock to four of his family's foundations on Tuesday, topping his nearly $800 million gift last November.

Warren Buffett's $541 million gift to his foundation topped the list of supersized charitable donations in 2023. Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. The Chronicle of Philanthropy's annual list of the biggest charitable donations from individuals or their foundations totaled more than $3.5 billion in 2023.

Rupert Hoogewerf, the chairman and chief researcher at Hurun, said, “Whilst American and European philanthropists may have dominated the thinking of philanthropy over the last century, Jamsetji Tata, founder of India's Tata Group is the world's biggest philanthropist.”

Musk donated $1.95 billion worth of Tesla shares to charities in 2022 and $5.74 billion in 2021, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Musk Foundation, like all charitable organizations, is mandated by law to allocate a minimum of 5% of its assets annually.

Despite being the sixth-richest person globally, Warren Buffett continues to drive a 2014 Cadillac XTS he purchased with hail damage. Although he can afford any luxury vehicle, Buffett prefers the practicality of his 10-year-old car.

According to a ranking compiled by the EdelGive Foundation and Hurun Report, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, the founder of the Tata Group, has emerged as the world's most prominent philanthropist over the last century.

These giving levels vary by particular faith. Mormons are the most generous Americans, both by participation level and by size of gifts.

According to the EdelGive Foundation and Hurun Report 2021, the founder of Tata Group, Jamsetji Tata, has been recognized as the most charitable person of the past century, having donated a staggering Rs 829,734 crore.

What is the most trustworthy charity? ›

Giving by income level

Middle-class Americans donate a little less. But the lower-income population surprises by giving more than the middle—and in some measures even more than the top. (As a percentage of available income, that is. In absolute dollars, those in higher income groups give much, much more money.)

Take Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's ex-wife, MacKenzie Scott, who has been among the planet's most generous philanthropists in recent years. As of the end of 2022, Scott had given away over $14 billion across roughly 1,600 causes and organizations since her divorce with Bezos in 2019.

First, my pledge: More than 99% of my wealth will go to philanthropy during my lifetime or at death. Measured by dollars, this commitment is large. In a comparative sense, though, many individuals give more to others every day.

Scott, 53, has donated more than $16.5 billion since their 2019 divorce, and releases a list of recipients on her website, including more than 360 organizations that received money in the past year. Bezos, 60, for his part, has donated more than $3 billion over that period.

His yearly salary is $100,000. The income he made last year at his job accounts for just 0.00001% of his current valuation. Warren Buffett's net worth mostly comes from his various shares and his portfolio. On average, it's estimated that Warren Buffett makes ~$37 million in a day.

Berkshire Hathaway recently reported its first-quarter results, and like clockwork, a swarm of bearish investors pointed out that Warren Buffett is sitting on a record cash pile of $189 billion.