BUFFET'S BILLIONS

Gates: Buffett gift may help cure worst diseases

‘Oracle of Omaha,’ Microsoft co-founder and wife announce donations

NBC VIDEO

• Buffett to give billions June 26: Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates explain how Buffett turned to the Gates Foundation to help him give away his fortune. MSNBC

SYMBOL LAST CHANGE   % CHANGE • BRK.A 91500.00 -600.00 -0.65% • BRK.B 3043.01 -28.00 -0.91% QUOTE LOOKUP Enter Company Symbol Enter Company Name

• Most Viewed • Top Rated • Most E-mailed

• Two characters killed off in final Potter book • Moscow surpasses Tokyo as world's priciest city • Flooding slows wheels of U.S. government • 15 People Who Make America Great • Bush plays down Iraq troop withdrawal reports • Most viewed on MSNBC.com

• From Russia with love • 88-year-old great-grandma loves triathlons • Inside Dateline: From Russia with love • Child deaths in hot cars 'totally' preventable • New details on Abramoff connections • Most viewed on MSNBC.com

• Two characters killed off in final Potter book • Men with older brothers more likely to be gay • Moscow surpasses Tokyo as world's priciest city • 88-year-old great-grandma loves triathlons • Flooding slows wheels of U.S. government • Most viewed on MSNBC.com

NEW YORK - Warren Buffett’s contribution of about $1.5 billion a year to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will be used to seek cures for the world’s worst diseases and improve American education, Bill Gates said Monday.

“There is no reason we can’t cure the top 20 diseases,” Gates said while appearing with Buffett during a donation ceremony at the New York Public Library.

The Buffett and Gates families, as well as onlookers, were beaming as the so-called Oracle of Omaha officially made his benevolence a reality.

“There is more than one way to get to heaven, but this is a great way,” said Buffett. He presented the biggest gift to Gates, and $1 billion donations to his own foundation and the foundations run by each of his three children.

“It’s easy to sign. I just signed, “Dad,”’ Buffett joked while handing one of the donation documents, a stock transfer letter, to his daughter, Susie Buffett.

Buffett said he had made some suggestions about how to use the money. But “I think their judgment above the ground is going to be a lot better than mine 6 feet below the ground,” he said at a later appearance.

Buffett said his children have known all along that much of their family’s wealth would be given back to society. “They consider themselves lucky. They don’t consider themselves quite as lucky as if they had a father with a different view.”

In a letter dated Monday, Buffett had informed Bill and Melinda Gates that the first donation of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. stock would go to the foundation next month.

The foundation, which has assets of $30.6 billion, spends money on world health, poverty and increasing access to technology in developing countries. In the United States, it focuses on education and technology in public libraries.

The money from Buffett, who is 75 but considered strong and healthy, comes with a significant catch. The letter says Buffett wants all his money to be distributed in the year it is donated, not added to the foundation’s assets for future giving. The foundation gave away $1.36 billion in 2005, so the Buffett commitment would effectively double its spending.

if (window.Biz_Buffett_Billions) { displayApp(Biz_Buffett_Billions); } .appBiz_Buffett_Billions { } .labelBiz_Buffett_Billions { undefined } .hedBiz_Buffett_Billions { font-size: 19px; font-family:arial; font-weight:bold; } .deckBiz_Buffett_Billions { color:#666;font-weight:bold; font-family:verdana; font-size:11px;padding:5px 5px; } .subhedBiz_Buffett_Billions { font-weight:bold;text-decoration:none;text-transform:uppercase;padding:3px 3px; } .colhdrBiz_Buffett_Billions { color:ffffff; font-size:10px;font-weight:bold;background-color:999999; } .font1Biz_Buffett_Billions { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 70%; line-height: 140%;line-height: 120%; } .boxB_Biz_Buffett_Billions { font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 70%; line-height: 140%;line-height: 120%;;border-left:1px #a4abc1 solid;border-bottom:1px #a4abc1 solid;border-right:1px #a4abc1 solid; ;width:100%; } .headlineBiz_Buffett_Billions { font-weight:bold; } .headlineBiz_Buffett_Billions:hover { } .headlineBiz_Buffett_Billions:visited { font-weight:bold;} .captionBiz_Buffett_Billions { undefined} #NoBg { background-color:transparent; } .navlinkBiz_Buffett_Billions { color:000000;font-size: 10px;font-family:verdana;line-height: 130%;text-decoration:none; } .navlinkBiz_Buffett_Billions:hover { color:cc3333; } .navlinkBiz_Buffett_Billions:active { color:#cc0000; } .navCellBiz_Buffett_Billions { width:20px;text-align:center;background-color:#EEEEEE;border-left:1px #CCCCCC solid;border-top:1px #CCCCCC solid;padding:2px;cursor:hand;width:100%; } .bulletBiz_Buffett_Billions { color:CC0000;font-family:verdana;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;color:cc3333; } BUFFET'S BILLIONS 1/6 • Warren Buffett's biography June 26: NBC's Brian Williams offers a brief biography of billionaire investor Warren Buffett. Nightly News Source: CNBC • Print this

The gifts would be worth nearly $37 billion, which represents the bulk of the $44 billion that Buffet’s stock holdings are worth today. Five-sixths of the shares will be earmarked for the Gates Foundation.

In his letter to the Gates Foundation, Buffett said he admired the foundation and wanted to extend its “future capabilities.” Until now, all the money given away by the Gates Foundation has come from the couple.

In a statement over the weekend, Bill and Melinda Gates spoke of their relationship with Buffett over the past 15 years and his influence on their philanthropy.

“Warren has not only an amazing intellect but also a strong sense of justice. Warren’s wisdom will help us do a better job and make it more fun at the same time,” they said. The couple said they were “awed” by Buffett’s decision.

getCSS("3053751")   FULL COVERAGE • Buffett donation to lift charity bar • Does philanthropy really help? • Folksy style, brainy investing • ‘Venture philanthropy’ is new buzz in business • Newsweek: Buffett's gift to Gates • Biggest U.S. charitable foundations • Gates move may boost innovation in charity • Gates turns focus to global health giving

Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, announced earlier this month that he would be stepping back from his day-to-day responsibilities at Microsoft Corp. in July 2008 so he can spend more time on the Seattle-based foundation. The foundation followed his announcement by saying Melinda Gates would also be taking a more active role in their philanthropic work.

Buffett, the world’s second-richest man, said in an interview with Fortune magazine that the timing of the two announcements — one week apart — was just “happenstance.”

Buffett’s gift is “really significant,” not just for its size but for its potential to encourage other giving, said Diana Aviv, president and CEO of Independent Sector, a nonprofit coalition of about 550 charities, foundations and corporate giving programs that includes The Gates Foundation.

“I’m sure there are lots of young, wealthy individuals who have made their fortunes and who are watching this very carefully,” she said. “These business leaders are icons.”

Superman returns: Will investors?

• Buffett donation will raise charity bar • Buffett — folksy style, brainy investing • Gates: Buffett gift may help cure diseases • Superman returns: Will investors? • MGM Mirage shows off $7 billion project • Louisiana gambling has post-Katrina boom • New twist in World Trade Center battle • Sirius boss wants to buy rival XM • 'Venture philanthropy' creating a buzz • Bud maker expands sponsorship deals • U.S. Business Section Front

	Great deals and thrills at the digital hub
	• Point & shoot cameras • Budget LCDs • Computer deals	• Portable TVs • Tablet PCs • High–end cameras

• © 2006 Microsoft
• MSN Privacy
• Legal
• Advertise