NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, July 17, 2014

NEW YORK — Warren Buffett, the second-richest person in the United States, made his largest single charitable contribution ever when he donated $2.1 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The chairman and chief executive officer of Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. gave 16.6 million Class B shares Monday in an annual gift to the foundation, where he is a trustee, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday. The donation beat last year’s record gift of $2 billion, when he gave 17.5 million shares. The stock has gained 8.8 percent this year through the close of trading yesterday to $128.98.

Buffett, 83, has vowed through the Giving Pledge initiative to give away most of his net worth, which is more than $60 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index, a daily ranking of the world’s wealthiest people. Along with Microsoft co-founder Gates, the world’s richest man, he has urged other ultra-wealthy people to give away their money.