“Father time always wins.”
Give It All Away
American stock market wizard Warren Buffett has announced that much of his legendary accumulation of wealth will be given away under the auspices of his three children.
However, as the 94-year-old admitted in a lengthy letter to investors, even they’ve grown quite old themselves, inspiring him to come up with a contingency plan in case they were to pass away before his remaining $147.4 billion fortune could be fully handed out — though he stopped short of publicly naming such a successor.
“Father time always wins,” he wrote, as quoted by the Associated Press. “But he can be fickle — indeed unfair and even cruel — sometimes ending life at birth or soon thereafter while, at other times, waiting a century or so before paying a visit.”
“To date, I’ve been very lucky, but, before long, he will get around to me,” he added. “There is, however, a downside to my good fortune in avoiding his notice.”
Logan Roy IRL
The nonagenarian admitted that the “expected life span of my children has materially diminished” since pledging to donate yearly to his children’s charitable efforts, as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in 2006.
Buffett also argued that “hugely wealthy parents should leave their children enough so they can do anything but not enough that they can do nothing.”
The billionaire has made considerable donations over the years. Last year, his charitable giving exceeded $50 billion, roughly twice his entire 2006 net worth.
Despite his advanced age, Buffett has held onto the reins of his Berkshire Hathaway empire and has yet to announce plans to retire. His children, however, won’t be taking over the multinational holdings company — one of his deputies, Greg Abel, has already been identified as the next CEO following Buffett’s death.
Meanwhile, Buffett’s children are tasked to oversee his philanthropic efforts.
Last year, he announced that the three would have ten years following his death to give away his fortune. But now that they’re growing old, it’s probably for the best to arrange a backup plan in case they quite literally can’t give it away fast enough.
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