No. 10: Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation
UNITED STATES – £252m
The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation stems from the charitable organization that Warren Buffett formed many years ago to manage his charitable giving.
He renamed his Buffett Foundation to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation in honor of his wife when she died in 2004. Susan Buffett’s will bestowed about £1.6bn to the foundation.
Bill Gates’ original intention was to leave 99 per cent of his estate to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, but he changed his mind and in 2006, announced that he would give 85 per cent of his wealth to the Gates Foundation, stating that this already scaled-up foundation would be able to spend his money more effectively.
Dubbed by trade website Inside Philanthropy as “a case study in non-transparency”, the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation “responds to questions about the Alice Buffett Outstanding Teacher Award and College Scholarships only. The Foundation does not respond to other inquiries.”
The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation donates to their College Scholarships project and the Alice Buffett Outstanding Teacher Award. Alice Buffett was a teacher, and the aunt of Warren Buffett. “Delighted” to honor his aunt in this way, Warren Buffett called Alice “a terrific teacher. Every student was an individual to her.” Occasionally running into his aunt’s former students, Mr. Buffett notes, “every student she had remembered her and remembered her interest in them specifically.”
Apart from study related charities, the Buffett Foundation also donates to charities and projects in the fields of family planning and reproductive rights.