Warren Buffett says he was "wired at birth to allocate capital" |
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is to donate about $37bn (£20bn) - most of his vast personal fortune - to Bill Gates' charitable foundation.
Mr Buffett will hand 10 million shares in his Berkshire Hathaway firm to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In a statement, Mr and Mrs Gates said they were "awed" by the donation, thought to be the largest charitable gift ever made in the United States.
The foundation aims to fight disease and promote education around the world.
News of the donation comes shortly after Mr Gates announced he is to step away from his day-to-day role at software giant Microsoft.
By July 2008 Mr Gates, the world's richest businessman, will concentrate on the foundation, which is currently worth just under $30bn.
New will
Warren Buffet, known as "the oracle of Omaha" for his relentless success in investments, is worth an estimated $44bn, according to Forbes magazine.
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Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Fund of $29.1bn
$10.5bn in grants since 1994
Aims: reducing poverty and improving health and access to education
Largest grant: $1bn to the United Negro College Fund
70% of aid spent outside US
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As well as donating to the Gates foundation, he also pledged shares for his three children and a substantial gift for a foundation established for his late wife, Susan Thompson Buffett.
All the gifts will be awarded yearly, with 5% of each donation passed on each year, it was announced.
He confirmed his decision in letters to the recipients, and said he would write a new will to ensure the money continues to be distributed after his death.
"We are awed by our friend Warren Buffet's decision to use his fortune to address the world's most challenging inequities, and we are humbled that he has chosen to direct a large portion of it to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation," the couple's statement said.
'Unconscionable disparity'
In making his award, Mr Buffett - who plays bridge with Mr Gates - said he chose to distribute his wealth to an existing foundation out of respect for its current work.
"Who wouldn't select Tiger Woods to take his place in a high-stakes golf game? That's how I feel about this decision with my money," he told Fortune magazine.
One of the terms of the donation is that at least one of Bill or Melinda Gates continues to be involved with the foundation.
The foundation has evolved into one of the leading philanthropical organisations in the world, listing as one of its primary goals "reducing the 'unconscionable disparity' that exists between the way that we live and the way that the people of the developing world live".
