Warren Buffett donates six billion dollars to five foundations

(Patria) - American investor Warren Buffett is donating shares of his company worth six billion dollars to five foundations, bringing the total amount he has given them since 2006 to approximately sixty billion dollars based on their value at the time of receipt, AP reported.

Buffett said on Friday evening that Berkshire Hathaway shares will be delivered on Monday. Berkshire Hathaway owns Geico, Dairy Queen, and a number of other companies, and Buffett is donating nearly 12.4 million Class B shares of his stock.

These shares have a lower and more easily digestible price than the company's original Class A shares, and each of the Class B shares was worth $485.68 at its last close on Friday.

The largest tranche goes to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, which will receive 9.4 million shares.

The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation will receive 943,384 shares, and the Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and NoVo Foundation will each receive 660,366.

Buffett caused tremors a year ago when he said he planned to stop donations to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation after his death and let his three children decide how to distribute the rest of his wealth.

Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares have risen 19.1 percent in the last twelve months, outperforming the broad U.S. stock market's return of 14.1 percent, including dividends.

Buffett is known on Wall Street for buying companies at good prices and taking a more conservative approach when prices seem too high.

The bargain-hunting approach has helped him accumulate a fortune of about $145 billion, virtually all of it in Berkshire Hathaway stock.

- Nothing extraordinary happened at Berkshire - a very long runway, simple and correct decisions overall, American tailwinds, and compounding effects produced my current wealth.

My will stipulates that about 99.5 percent of my assets are intended for philanthropic use - Buffett said.