Berkshire Hathaway chair Warren Buffett, 94, announced yesterday via a news release that he will convert 1,600 Class A shares of the company into 2.4 million Class B shares worth $1.14 billion and distribute them to four family foundations as part of his latest estate planning move. The decision will reduce his Berkshire Hathaway Class A holdings to 206,363, a 56.6% drop since his 2006 pledge to give away his wealth, estimated at over $150 billion, according to Forbes.
He will donate 1.5 million Class B shares with fewer voting rights to The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named after his late first wife. The Oracle of Omaha will evenly donate the remaining 900,000 shares to The Sherwood Foundation, The Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation — each led by his three children, Howard Graham Buffett, Peter Buffett, and Susan Alice Buffett.
