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Warren Buffett announces $6 billion in donations to five foundations (apnews.com)

submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by cm0002@lemmy.world to c/usa@midwest.social

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NEW YORK (AP) — Famed investor Warren Buffett is donating $6 billion worth of his company’s stock to five foundations, bringing the total he has given to them since 2006 to roughly $60 billion, based on their value when received.

Buffett said late Friday that the shares of Berkshire Hathaway will be delivered on Monday. Berkshire Hathaway owns Geico, Dairy Queen and a range of other businesses, and Buffett is donating nearly 12.4 million of the Class B shares of its stock. Those shares have a lower and easier-to-digest price tag than the company’s original Class A shares, and each of the B shares was worth $485.68 at their most recent close on Friday.

The largest tranche is going 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 shares.

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[–] WoodScientist@sh.itjust.works 31 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - controlled by another billionaire and their heirs

Susan Thompson Buffet Foundation - controlled by Buffet

Sherwood Foundation - controlled by Warren Buffet's daughter

Howard G. Buffet Foundation - controlled by another Buffet family member

NoVo Foundation - controlled by Warren Buffet's son

Billionaire philanthropy is a disgusting scam. It's a way of buying social influence for your heirs. Even if they don't get the money directly, the heirs retain control over the foundation and can direct it to whatever causes, often political causes, that they personally support. It's a way of giving your heirs money that they can use to obtain more power - which is ultimately the only use billionaires have for their fortunes anyway. The only use for billions of dollars is to obtain power, and these foundations are a way of passing power and influence to the next generation tax free. It's an abomination. You should not be able to donate money to foundations that you control.

[–] LeninOnAPrayer@lemm.ee 10 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Thanks. Glad someone typed this so I didn't have to.

In addition to what you said. Most "aid" organizations, especially when it comes to those with a billionaires name attached to it are used strategically by corporations to flood local markets with the crops or resources the country would need to sustain itself independently.

Meaning, they flood the local markets with rice for example, so that no local farmers can reasonably make any money growing it. This forces the local farmers to grow the most profitable crop that the corporations can best exploit for profit. Sugarcane, Bananas, whatever is a very climate dependent crop usually.

Those who come with wheat, millet, corn or milk, they are not helping us. Those who really want to help us can give us ploughs, tractors, fertilizers, insecticides, watering cans, drills and dams. That is how we would define food aid.

-Thomas Sankara (Pan-Africanist revolutionary)

This is the "soft power" of imperialism. It is about forcing dependence in under developed countries to keep them from becoming self sustainable.

Allowing billionaires to decide who gets aid and what they get is a fundamental part of imperialism and capitalist exploitation.

Billionaires are parasites. If they wanted to help people they'd jump infront of a bus.

[–] Bluefalcon@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Holy Shit! Finally people are speaking out against this shit. They are not good people helping the world. They are jerking themselves off and they want everyone else to clap for them.