Warren Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, has announced his latest significant act of philanthropy: a donation of approximately $6 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares. This charitable contribution involves around 12.4 million Class B shares, which are being distributed among five different foundations. This recent donation underscores Buffett's long-standing commitment to give away the majority of his vast fortune to various philanthropic causes, a pledge he originally made in 2006.

The largest portion of this substantial donation, roughly 9.4 million Class B shares valued at approximately $4.6 billion, is designated for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust. This foundation was co-founded by Microsoft's co-founder and his former wife. In addition to the Gates Foundation, other key recipients include the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named in honor of Buffett's first wife, which is set to receive about 943,000 shares. Furthermore, approximately 660,000 shares each are earmarked for the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation.

Reflecting on his 2006 pledge, Buffett provided context on the scale of his commitment. At the time, he owned 474,998 Berkshire Class A shares, valued at around $43 billion, which constituted over 98% of his net worth. He clarified that he converted Class A shares into Class B shares before making his contributions and has neither bought nor sold any Class A or B shares during the subsequent 19 years, nor does he intend to. He highlighted that, since his initial pledge, the five foundations combined have received Berkshire Class B shares with an aggregate value of approximately $60 billion when received, a figure substantially exceeding his entire net worth in 2006.

Despite these monumental donations, Buffett's financial standing remains robust. As of a recent assessment, his net worth stood at $152 billion, and he stated that he has no debts. His remaining Class A shares are now valued at approximately $145 billion, representing well over 99% of his current net worth. When contemplating the success of Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett humbly noted that "nothing extraordinary" had occurred. Instead, he attributed the company's remarkable achievements to a "very long runway," combined with "simple and generally sound decisions," the inherent "American tailwind," and the powerful effects of "compounding." Currently, his stake in Berkshire Hathaway consists of 198,117 Class A shares and 1,144 Class B shares.