Billionaire Warren Buffett Says He’s ‘Impressed’ His 3 Kids Want to Give Money Away Rather Than Spend It on Themselves Or ‘Build Huge Office Buildings’
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A fortune can buy almost anything. For one of the world’s wealthiest families, the more interesting question is what happens when the money is meant to leave the family rather than stay in it.
“I’m impressed by the fact that my kids really want to give the money away rather than do other things with it as they go along,” Berkshire Hathaway Chair Warren Buffett told CNBC in July.
Host Becky Quick asked, “You mean rather than spend it on themselves?”
“Yeah, or buildings or anything of the sort,” Buffett said. “They’re not going to build huge office buildings or hold conferences at esoteric places and all kinds of things.”
That gets to the heart of what Buffett wants his fortune to accomplish. He isn’t interested in leaving his children a giant pile of money simply because they’re his children. He wants the wealth put to work while they can still decide where it can do the most good.
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The Fortune Comes With a Deadline
The comments came one day after Buffett announced that he was accelerating his charitable giving and would direct his remaining donations to four family foundations rather than the Gates Foundation.
He plans to dispose of all his remaining Berkshire Hathaway shares by Dec. 31, 2034. Based on the value of his holdings at the time of the announcement, that pace would require giving away at least $17 billion a year.
His three children — Susie, Howard and Peter — will decide how the money is spent. The three must agree unanimously.
That’s an enormous responsibility, but Buffett didn’t arrive at that decision overnight.
His Kids Had to Earn His Confidence
When Buffett began his major charitable giving in 2006, he said he didn’t believe his children were ready to handle “vast sums of money.”
Nearly two decades of watching them run their own foundations changed his mind.
Susie Buffett oversees the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and the Sherwood Foundation, with a focus that includes early childhood education. Howard G. Buffett‘s foundation concentrates on food security and work in conflict areas. Peter Buffett‘s NoVo Foundation supports health and economic programs involving women and children.
Trending: There’s More Than One Way To Put Cash To Work. Some Accredited Investors Are Looking Beyond Savings Accounts.
Buffett has said he doesn’t review their tax filings or second-guess individual grants. He has given them responsibility for the money and expects them to use it well.
That fits with a principle he has repeated for years: Children should receive enough money to do anything, but not so much that they can do nothing.
His children are already financially comfortable. The fortune they’re set to control isn’t intended to make their personal lives dramatically more lavish. It’s intended to address needs they believe deserve attention.
Why Move the Money While They Can?
There’s another reason for the accelerated schedule.
His children are now in their late 60s and early 70s. By the time the 2034 deadline arrives, Susie will be approaching 81.
The concern isn’t simply how long they live. It’s whether they’ll still have the health, judgment and energy required to oversee enormous sums of money.
That makes the timeline practical. The money is being moved while the people responsible for distributing it can still make those decisions themselves.
Instead of waiting for an estate settlement years down the road, Buffett wants his children actively involved in deciding where the fortune goes.
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You Don’t Need a Buffett-Sized Fortune to Own Real Estate
Most people aren’t deciding whether to build a 40-story office building with their inheritance. But the basic idea behind Buffett’s comments — putting money into assets rather than simply spending it — can apply on a much smaller scale, too.
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It’s obviously not the same thing as controlling billions of dollars or deciding where a massive charitable fortune should go. But that’s kind of the point. Building wealth doesn’t always require a fortune to start with. Someone can begin with a smaller amount, add to investments over time and gradually build ownership in assets.
Buffett’s children may have no interest in building office towers with their father’s money. For everyone else, building a portfolio of assets doesn’t have to start with an office building — or even an entire house.
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