FRI, NOV 29, 2024

WARREN BUFFETT WATCH

Buffett's Thanksgiving gifts top $1B for first time as Berkshire shares rally to new record highs

For the third consecutive year, Warren Buffett has donated a total of 2.4 million Class B Berkshire Hathaway shares to four family foundations.

The B shares closed at $477.43 on Monday. That was the day the gifts were made, according to a Berkshire news release and SEC filing.

That puts the value of the donations at substantially more than $1.1 billion.

It's a 32.3% increase from 2023's $866 million and a 51.0% jump from almost $759 million in 2022. (Since the number of shares donated has remained constant, the higher values each year are entirely due to the stock's price gains.)

The combined value of the annual gifts is almost $2.8 billion based on the stock's price at the time of the donations and nearly $3.5 billion using its current price.

The four foundations are:

Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named after his first wife
Sherwood Foundation, chaired by his daughter, Susan A. Buffett
Howard G. Buffett Foundation, chaired by his older son
NoVo Foundation, run by his younger son, Peter, and Peter's wife, Jennifer

Backup trustees designated for Buffett's children

In the news release, Buffett writes that so far, he's been very lucky, but "Father time always wins ... and before long he will get around to me."

The "downside" to that "good fortune" is that his children, who will be responsible for giving away his wealth after he dies, are now aged 71, 69, and 66.

"The massive wealth I’ve collected may take longer to deploy than my children live. And tomorrow’s decisions are likely to be better made by three live and well-directed brains than by a dead hand."

As a result, "Three potential successor trustees have been designated. Each is well known to my children and makes sense to all of us. They are also somewhat younger than my children."

Buffett says he hopes his children will be able to finish the job of distributing his fortune, but the unnamed successors "are on the wait list" in case they don't.

Howard Buffett at the 2023 annual meeting (Photo: CNBC)

Why do all three children have to agree on donation decisions?

Buffett writes that "wealthy friends" have expressed "particular surprise" at his requirement that when the time comes, all three children unanimously agree on donations.

His reasoning: his children will be "forever regarded as 'targets of opportunity' ... besieged with earnest requests from very sincere friends and others," an "unpleasant reality [that] comes with the territory."

"Hence, the 'unanimous decision' provision. That restriction enables an immediate and final reply to grant-seekers: 'It’s not something that would ever receive my brother’s consent.' And that answer will improve the lives of my children."

Peter Buffett, Warren Buffett, and Susie Buffett attend 'Becoming Warren Buffett' world premiere on January 19, 2017 in New York City. (Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

He concludes: "Susie Jr., Howie and Peter have each spent far more time directly helping others than I have. They enjoy being comfortable financially, but they are not preoccupied with wealth. Their mother, from whom they learned these values, would be very proud of them.

"As am I."

Meanwhile ... Berkshire rallies to new record highs

Both classes of Berkshire Hathaway shares hit new all-time record closing highs this week.

For the A shares, today's finish at 724,040, up 0.07%, is their fourth consecutive record high close.

The B shares just missed two straight record highs, ending today at 483.02, down 0.01%.

Berkshire's gains since Donald Trump reelection earlier this month continue to outpace the benchmark S&P 500 by about two-to-one.

BUFFETT AROUND THE INTERNET

Some links may require a subscription

CNBC.com: Warren Buffett suggests all parents do one thing before they die, whether they have ‘modest or staggering wealth’

Washington Post on MSN: Listen to Warren Buffett’s advice on wills, most estate planners say

Bloomberg Opinion (subscription): Buffett’s Life Advice May Be More Valuable Than His Portfolio

WSJ (subscription): Warren Buffett Talks to His Kids About His Will. You Should Too.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ARCHIVE

Buffett teaches his kids a lesson with a slot machine (2007)

Warren Buffett explains why he put a slot machine on the third floor of his house when his children were growing up.

BERKSHIRE STOCK WATCH

Four weeks

Twelve months

BERKSHIRE'S TOP U.S. STOCK HOLDINGS - Nov. 29, 2024

Berkshire's top holdings of disclosed publicly traded stocks in the U.S., Japan, and Hong Kong, by market value, based on today's closing prices.

Holdings are as of September 30, 2024 as reported in Berkshire Hathaway's 13F filing on August 14, 2024, except for:

Bank of America, which is as of October 15, 2024
Mitsubishi, which is as of June 12, 2023. Tokyo Stock Exchange prices are converted to U.S. dollars from Japanese yen.

The full list of holdings and current market values is available from CNBC.com's Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS

CORRECTION: In last week's newsletter, the price of Justin Sun's 2020 meal with Warren Buffett in current dollars should have been $5.6 million, not billion. There has been a lot of inflation, but not that much.

Please send any questions or comments about the newsletter to me at alex.crippen@nbcuni.com. (Sorry, but we don't forward questions or comments to Buffett himself.)

If you aren't already subscribed to this newsletter, you can sign up here.

Also, Buffett's annual letters to shareholders are highly recommended reading. There are collected here on Berkshire's website.

-- Alex Crippen, Editor, Warren Buffett Watch

900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632

Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis.

Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS