Thread

Warren Buffett Steps Down as Berkshire Chairman, Names Son to Replace Him

323 points · 221 comments · saimiam

dugmartin · 1789732295 · focus · HN ↗
I guess Warren’s quote only applies to other people, not him. "It’s like choosing the 2020 Olympic team by picking the eldest sons of the gold-medal winners in the 2000 Olympics." (<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/14/us/dozens-of-rich-americans-join-in-fight-to-retain-the-estate-tax.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/14/us/dozens-of-rich-america...)
1. nlitened · 1789734152 · focus · HN ↗
  As I understand, the son is there not to lead the company (Greg Abel is the CEO), but to oversee their family's share in the enterprise.
  1. yuuu · 1789734967 · focus · HN ↗
    I thought he was giving away 99% of his wealth?
    u1hcw9nx · 1789736927 · focus · HN ↗
    He has. His family manages the foundation that owns BRK stock.
    infecto · 1789737198 · focus · HN ↗
    Isn’t that the usual loophole though? He definitely continues to donate large amounts but I always question setting up a trust that the kids run.
    traviswingo · 1789738100 · focus · HN ↗
    It’s not really a “loophole,” it’s a standard way to give away absurd sums of money.
    Have you ever tried to donate billions of dollars? It’s actually extremely difficult.
    You have to find causes you’re passionate about/things that society needs, find the correct charities to give the money to, make sure your money actually goes towards the thing they say it will (this is difficult), and then figure out how much you can actually donate (you can’t just give N dollars to company Y. They’ve got zero experience managing that much money, and no way to scale into doing it efficiently.)
    What happens then is you have $100b to donate, and mostly only do it $10m at a time or less.
    Warren’s kids are old now. They’ve all been donating money for YEARS (it’s a mandatory part of their trust).
    So yeah, you receive tax benefits by transferring shares to a foundation you also control, but that money is now earmarked for charity. It doesn’t flow both ways, and the laws on this are very tight (bad actors will find a way, but what’s new?).
    mvc · 1789742695 · focus · HN ↗
    If it's so difficult, maybe they could take the easy option and, you know, properly fund the government to build the shared infrastructure on which we all rely by paying tax proportional to their wealth.
    dsl · 1789744757 · focus · HN ↗
    Warren Buffet made the largest single tax payment in US history last year. He doesn't play any games.

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