Editor's note, May 5, 2025: In light of Warren Buffett's announcement Saturday that he will step down as chairman of Berkshire Hathaway on Jan. 1, we think Buffett's 2024 shareholder letter, published in November, is worth another look. The 94-year-old discussed his estate plan, offering lessons for advisors and investors along with insight into the future of his fortune — and Berkshire's.
Berkshire Hathaway published a new shareholder letter on Monday that details plans by its chairman, Warren Buffett, to convert some 1,600 A shares of the company into 2.4 million B shares.
The reason? Buffett intends to give these B shares to four family foundations — 1.5 million to The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and 300,000 shares to each of The Sherwood Foundation, The Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the NoVo Foundation.
The letter, in addition to covering technical information about the planned share conversions, also offers up some of Buffett’s thinking about when, why and how to pass along wealth. It covers everything from his feelings about respecting the wishes of deceased loved ones to passing shared money values down through the generations and making decisions about business leadership continuity.
See the slideshow for seven pieces of estate planning wisdom drawn from the letter, many of which will likely apply to the smaller but still meaningful legacy planning decisions faced every day by wealth management clients.
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