Wealth For A Better World

When I made my first pilgrimage to Omaha in 2003, I was attracted by Warren Buffett's economic success. Today, his charitable work is the most fascinating aspect of his life for me. But let's stay with success for a moment...

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With around 100 billion US dollars, you would be within the top 10 list of the richest people in the world. The exact place is determined by the current share price of the companies in which you have a stake. Often, these are shares in the companies that you would have founded yourself. Warren Buffett has been in these lofty heights for a long time, even though he has already donated half of his Berkshire Hathaway shares to charitable foundations. True to steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie's motto, “The man who dies rich, dies disgraced.” In 2006, Buffett pledged his entire stake in Berkshire Hathaway to charity. That's 99% of his total wealth and 100% of the wealth you always read about. For example, in the Forbes list of the richest people in the world.

Anyone who speaks disparagingly of capitalism should look at this example. Out of nothing, Buffett created a fortune that would be worth over $200 billion today. Why would that be? In mid-2006, the now 92-year-old Warren Buffett held 474,998 shares of Berkshire Hathaway Class A. Today's equivalent value is $234 billion. That amount would make him the No. 1 wealthiest person in the world. At the time, however, he committed to his generous donation to 5 charitable organizations. First and foremost, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The donation size was fixed and 5% of each remaining share goes to the foundations each year (see previous links for details).

Today, Buffett still holds 227,416 shares - so to date, he has already donated 247,582 shares, with more to come. Amazingly, Buffett did not use a single Berkshire share to fund his own life. It all came from investments outside Berkshire stock. He took a pragmatic approach. It was never his goal to build a Buffett dynasty. That's more unusual in the U.S. than in Europe anyway. His philosophy is: “Leave the children enough so that they can do anything, but not enough that they can do nothing.”

Warren, Charlie and I

On May 6, I will be attending Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. After 2003 and 2011, 2023 is perfect to span a 20-year bracket of thought. I will take you, dear readers of the Gutmann Viewpoint newsletter, along for the ride. The linchpin of the meeting in Omaha is 6 hours of Q&A with investors. In the process, Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger draw on their wealth of experience and knowledge. 

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