Multi-Billionaire May Give Away 85 Percent of Fortune
June 25, 2006 — -- Warren Buffett, one of the world's richest men, is making an unprecedented donation to another of the world's richest men, Microsoft CEO Bill Gates.
Buffett, 75, the CEO of the Omaha, Neb.-based company Berkshire Hathaway, is worth $44 billion, according to Fortune magazine. Fortune reports Buffett will donate 85 percent of his fortune amassed from stock in the Berkshire Hathaway company to five foundations.
Five-sixths of the money reportedly will go to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which specializes in finding cures for diseases that plague the third world. His first annual donation is expected to be about $1.5 billion. The only catch is that Buffett wants his money to be used by foundation the same year he donates it, according to Fortune magazine.
Buffett, often called "Oracle of Omaha" for his uncanny ability to understand financial markets, is the first person to make a donation large enough to rival the money the Gates' spend on the foundation.
An unsigned statement from the Gates Foundation said Bill and Melinda Gates are "awed" by Buffett's decision.
According to Fortune magazine, Buffett will join the Gates foundation as a trustee once his donations begin.
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