Warren Buffett has apparently had a change of heart about donating his fortune to a certain charity, with hints he might have a new plan up his sleeve.
The multibillionaire is one of the richest people in the world, raising questions about what exactly is going to happen to his ginormous wealth when the 94-year-old is no longer here.
Buffett, who made his $147 billion fortune after gaining control of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965 and becoming its CEO, ruled out leaving the sums to his three children, Susan, 71, Howard, 70, and Peter, 66.
Warren Buffett has already donated millions to charity (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The Nebraska native has already given away a staggering amount of money to charity over the years, estimated in the region of $57 billion, according to Reuters.
And at the end of last year, the investor donated $5.3 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
He said in a letter seen by CNBC that he decided to support the trust over his offspring because he didn't want to create a 'dynasty' or 'pursue any plan that extended beyond the children'.
Warren Buffett pictured with his daughter Susan in 2017 (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Buffett continued: "I know the three well and trust them completely. Future generations are another matter.
"Who can foresee the priorities, intelligence and fidelity of successive generations to deal with the distribution of extraordinary wealth amid what may be a far different philanthropic landscape?"
There were hopes the fortune would simply pass over to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, particularly after Buffett pledged to make annual gifts to the charity in 2006.
The Gates Foundation even reportedly expected to receive the large sums, having created a plan nicknamed 'Project Lincoln' in preparation.
Microsoft co-founder and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation co-chair, Bill Gates (JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images)
Now, it has been revealed that Buffett's pledge will come to an end when he dies as the investor told The Wall Street Journal: “The Gates Foundation has no money coming after my death."
So, if not to his children and The Gates Foundation, where will it be going?
Well, even Buffett doesn't even know.
According to AXIOS, a charitable trust that either hasn't been chosen or simply doesn't exist yet will become the largest entity in the world when it receives the funds - as determined by Buffett's children when he dies.
A rough plan suggests the trust will be 100 percent effective from day one to ensure Buffett's estate pays no tax on the billions he made in his life, though whether it will have any philanthropic impact is yet to be seen.
It will also own shares of the Berkshire Hathaway he still owns and his offspring have been instructed they can only spend the money by unanimous agreement.
Yet, so far, Susie said the family have not 'talked about what we will do'.
Buffett says his kids are not 'preoccupied with wealth' (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
The businessman explained to WSJ that his decision to gift the funds has been driven to help others.
“It should be used to help the people that haven’t been as lucky as we have been,” he said. “There’s eight billion people in the world, and me and my kids, we’ve been in the luckiest 100th of one percent or something. There’s lots of ways to help people.”
At the moment, Susie runs the Sherwood Foundation, a social justice project focussed in Nebraska, while Howie runs the Howard G Buffett Foundation, which deals with soldiers and police in Arizona, and Peter operates the NoVo Foundation which 'supports initiatives that promote a holistic, interconnected and healing vision for humanity' based in Kingston, New York.
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