Whispers Around Warren Buffett’s Great Giveaway Leaves Us Mostly in The Dark but is Saying What Matters Most

The philanthropic philosophy of billionaire Warren Buffett that’s set him apart from many of the world’s wealthiest of our time is making two foundations and society anxious.?

Twelve years ago, Warren Buffett pledged to give away 99% of his wealth to charity, and a statement he made last year reiterates his commitment: “Society has a use for my money; I don’t.”

Having already generously donated more than $40 billion in his lifetime, Buffett’s estate planning has a ways to go in fulfilling the unfathomable giveaway pledge.?

How much we’re talking about here is an astronomical amount according to a report from The Wall Street Journal last month, which also named the two foundations expected to receive the bulk of his distributions. And you’re in luck, we’ve synthesized it for you:?

• The majority of his over $90 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway shares are set aside for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, run by his longtime friends, where he’s regularly donated billions since 2006.?
• Another large chunk will go to his own foundation, the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation.?
• Where the remaining portion of this total $90 billion Berkshire fortune will be donated is still up in the air.??
• In planning what to do with the Earth-sized influx of cash, the Gates Foundation has proposed a world’s children savings bank that would allocate thousands of dollars for every kid in the world.?
• Buffett has said he wants the billions set aside for the Buffett Foundation spent within a decade and the foundation to shut its doors after the last dollar is donated.

Since anything else is rough speculation as to what causes the billionaire’s wealth will ultimately serve, what does this all mean??

We can look at Buffett’s philanthropy in a couple of ways. It is establishing a new precedent for the movement of generational wealth, and it's also shifting the purpose of accumulating wealth to begin with. For many ultra-rich billionaires, money is hoarded and will stay in the family. But according to the WSJ’s report, Buffett is against inherited wealth—giving it all away pretty much proves that.?

So is the purpose of growing vast amounts of wealth turning to a new age of power—the power to leave your legacy on the world through charitable causes benefiting society at large? Look at what MacKenzie Scott is doing with her money after making a similar pledge to give away her wealth. Unlike Buffett who has said he’d rather the money go to a select number of causes, MacKenzie is spreading her billions across many causes, which is neither here nor there, it’s simply using the power of wealth to create the type of altruistic society-changing, if not world-changing, impact how you choose. It’s not a bad way to be remembered a hundred years down the road either.

Ok, but most of us don’t have a billion dollars (and individuals probably shouldn’t).?

But because you’re reading this, it’s safe to assume there are causes you care about that you’re supporting or plan to support. Philanthropy does not require 10-figure wealth to make a difference. This is among our core beliefs at Groundswell. That anyone can be a philanthropist and give strategically, building a portfolio of impact through a Personal Giving Account. Just as a billionaire philanthropist routes a massive fortune through a foundation on its way to changing the world, so can you… but at a smaller scale perhaps… with Groundswell.?

In the near future, rather than money alone defining success, maybe success will be defined by the good we do with it in our lifetime and leave as our legacy. Or something like that. Morals are hard when it comes to billionaires.