Warren Buffett said luck was an important factor in the success that made him one of the richest people in the world, inspiring the billionaire investor to give away most of his wealth.
“My perspective is that out of 8 billion people, I might be one of the 10 luckiest people in the world,” Buffett said in an interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick that aired Wednesday.
Buffett often attributes some of his success to the good fortune he experienced throughout his life, especially in his early years. Berkshire Hathaway’s chairman, whose net worth was estimated at $147 billion as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Bloomberg, said at Berkshire’s 1997 shareholder meeting that he won the “ovarian lottery” simply by being born in the United States and in relatively good health, both of which are a matter of chance.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to live to be 95 years old in good health…and fortunately, I was blessed, in part by chance, with what I knew very early on that I wanted to do,” Buffett told Quick. “It was just an accident. If my dad had been a plumber, I wouldn’t have benefited as much as I did. So I was incredibly lucky.”
Reflecting on the role that environment has played in his success, he said, has formed his belief that philanthropy is a moral obligation of the wealthy, even those who are not convinced that they have also benefited from good fortune along the way. Buffett first pledged to give away 99% of his wealth during his lifetime in 2010, and has donated Berkshire stock to the Gates Foundation every year for the past 20 years, with a value of about $48 billion at the time of the gift and a current value of about $159 billion, CNBC estimated on Tuesday.
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Buffett announced in a press release on Tuesday that he now plans to “dump” all of his Berkshire stock holdings by Dec. 31, 2034, which would require him to give at least $17 billion a year to his four family foundations after giving away a total of $7 billion in 2025. Buffett confirmed Wednesday that future donations will exclude the Gates Foundation, and that philanthropic funds will instead go to a group of family foundations run by his three children.
“I’ve seen some people have incredibly bad luck as their lives go on,” Buffett told Quick, adding, “The birth accident is so extreme. And I’ve seen people use that accident to justify their position, which is ridiculous in my opinion. And that’s why I encourage philanthropy.”
Mr Buffett said his three children, now aged between 68 and 72, needed to unanimously agree on how the funds would be distributed and that he was confident in their stewardship when it came to making the best possible use of the remainder of his vast fortune. Their foundation focuses on addressing a variety of issues, including early childhood education, food security, and health and economic programs for women and children.
Buffett said the money “is theirs and it’s their responsibility to make it work.”
Billionaires like Buffett sometimes face backlash for their philanthropic style, with critics saying they use high-profile charitable giving primarily to obtain tax breaks and boost their fame. But ultimately, Buffett said he believes substantial philanthropy can encourage other wealthy people to give, while also benefiting those less fortunate than himself.
“If you do something that appeals to[people’s]better instincts, sometimes they respond,” he told Quick, adding, “The ultimate goal is to improve the lives of people who don’t have enough straws, but there are more people who don’t have enough straws than we can ever care for.”
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