Warren Buffett’s $1.3 billion gift — Which four foundations received Berkshire Hathaway stocks

Billionaire value investor and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Omaha-based investment giant, Berkshire Hathaway, in his recent letter to the shareholders, announced that he is leaving his four family foundations with a billion-dollar parting gift.

The Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, in his letter, announced that he will stop writing annual reports and speaking at the company meetings as the veteran investor now eyes retirement by the end of 2025.

Warren Buffett’s $1.3 billion farewell gift

Warren Buffett, in his letter to the shareholders, announced that the billionaire value investor has converted 1,800 Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares into 27 lakh Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares to allocate this to the four family foundations.

“Today, Warren E. Buffett converted 1,800 A shares into 2,700,000 B shares in order to give these B shares to four family foundations,” according to the letter released on 10 November 2025.

Based on the closing price of these shares, on 10 November 2025, the estimated value of the total shareholding allotted to the family foundations amounts to more than $1.3 billion. The donations in the form of shares were credited to the foundations on Monday, 10 November 2025.

Buffett allocated 1,500,000 Class B equity shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, 400,000 Class B equity shares each to the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the NoVo Foundation.

Where did Buffett donate the shares?

The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the NoVo Foundation were the four family entities to which Warren Buffett decided to donate shares of the investment giant Berkshire Hathaway.

Let’s take a look at what these four foundations do —

1. Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation: The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation is a family foundation which has been offering scholarships to college students in Nebraska for more than five decades.

According to the official website, the scholarships are awarded on a competitive basis to a ‘first-time freshman’ who is entering the college and lives in Nebraska.

In order to be eligible for the scholarship, a student has to have graduated from a Nebraska high school (or GED) with plans to attend a Nebraska public college. They should also have a financial need in the family to be eligible for the grants.

2. Sherwood Foundation: The Sherwood Foundation is a Buffett family foundation which provides grants towards the infrastructure of Nebraska in efforts to make the state a better place in terms of livelihood and work.

3. Howard G. Buffett Foundation: The Howard G. Buffett Foundation, which was established in 1999, aims to improve the standard of living and quality of life in the world’s most impoverished and marginalised populations.

The foundation invests in three main areas — food security, conflict mitigation, and combating human trafficking across several nations around the world. Apart from the contribution to human life, the foundation also makes smaller investments into the conservation of wildlife like the cheetah and mountain gorillas.

4. NoVo Foundation: The NoVo Foundation is a programme which directs its attention towards the empowerment of women and girls, while supporting men and boys as their roles transform toward a more balanced society, according to the official website.

The foundation executes strategies like education and economic empowerment for young women and girls in developed nations and efforts to end violence against women and girls.