Berkshire Hathaway: Warren Buffett donates 13.69 million shares to 5 foundations

American magnate Warren Buffett has donated 13.69 million shares of Berkshire Hathaway to 5 different foundations. The foundations include Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation and NoVo Foundation.

Four out of the five foundations are run by Buffett's three children. The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation has received the highest donation of 10,453,008 shares worth $3.6 billion. Meanwhile, Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation has received 1,045,300 shares and Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation and NoVo Foundation each has got 731,708 shares. The value of the shares at the time of donation was $50 billion.

“The five foundations have received Berkshire B shares that had a value when received of about $50 billion, substantially more than my entire net worth in 2006. I have no debts and my remaining A shares are worth about $112 billion, well over 99 per cent of my net worth", Warren Buffet said.

The donations are a part of Buffett's annual giving programme that started in 2006. To make the donation, Buffett has converted 9,129 A shares into 13,693,500 B shares.

"When originally made, I owned 474,998 Berkshire A shares worth about $43 billion and those shares represented more than 98% of my net worth. I have converted A shares into B shares before making contributions. During the following 17 years, I have neither bought nor sold any A or B shares nor do I intend to do so. The five foundations have received Berkshire B shares that had a value when received of about $50 billion, substantially more than my entire net worth in 2006. I have no debts and my remaining A shares are worth about $112 billion, well over 99% of my net worth," Buffett added.

The main difference between A share and B share is that investors holding A shares have more voting power than the investors holding B shares. The cost of A share is also much higher than that of the B share.