By Jordan Grim • November 11, 2025 • 06:40 AM (PDT)
By Jordan Grim • November 11, 2025 • 06:40 AM (PDT)
Warren Buffett’s latest move has pushed warren buffett news to the top of search trends across the United States. At 95, he has released what many see as his farewell letter, explaining why his long-standing charitable vision has changed and how his fortune will be handled going forward. His message is direct, reflective, and shaped by decades of watching what works and what does not in philanthropy.
Buffett has built a net worth of about $150 billion through Berkshire Hathaway. For years, he spoke about distributing nearly all of it through The Giving Pledge. Now he says that some of his early ideas for that plan were not workable. He admitted that the large, sweeping strategies he once imagined did not fit the realities he saw over time.
Instead of one central structure, he is shifting the responsibility to his three children. Each of their foundations will receive enough Berkshire stock to grant nearly $500 million every year. According to him, they are at a point in life where they have the judgment and experience to direct the money with clarity and purpose.
He announced several major gifts as part of this new approach.
Buffett also acknowledged that time is now a factor. While he believes his children are well-positioned to manage the work, he understands that long transitions rarely go smoothly. By accelerating these gifts during his lifetime, he hopes to keep the process practical and grounded.
He is keeping a substantial portion of his Berkshire Hathaway Class A shares for now. Those will shift later, once Greg Abel is fully established as Berkshire’s future leader. Buffett made it clear that he has no interest in controlling decisions after he is gone.
This shift raises real questions for The Giving Pledge. Buffett helped create the project in 2010 with Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, urging billionaires to give away at least half their wealth. He himself pledged more than 99 percent. Even so, only a small number of signatories have reached the halfway mark. Many have seen their fortunes grow faster than they donate.
Buffett has already given more than $60 billion, with a large share sent to the Gates Foundation. His relationship with the foundation changed in recent years as he became concerned about its slow, heavy structure. After the Gates divorce in 2021, he stepped down from its board.
Today, the future of major philanthropy is uncertain. Some high-profile donors, like MacKenzie Scott, have committed to fast, broad giving. Others, including rising billionaires, rarely discuss long-term plans. Buffett’s farewell letter suggests that leadership in charitable culture may now shift away from single figures and toward a wider range of independent foundations.
As warren buffett news continues to trend, the focus now turns to how his children will guide this next phase, how his warren buffett farewell letter shapes public discussion, and how future donors respond as one of the most influential voices in modern giving begins to step back.