New Delhi: Warren Buffett, one of the world’s leading investors, has resigned as a trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. “My goals are 100 percent in line with the foundation’s goals,” Buffett said on Wednesday. Along with this, he also announced to donate half of all the shares of his company Berkshire Hathaway to charity.
Buffett, 90, has contributed more than $27 billion of his wealth to charity over the past 15 years. He was on the three-member board of the foundation along with Bill and Melinda Gates.
Mark Suzman, chief executive officer of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, told employees last month that he was working on a plan to strengthen the foundation over the long term.
Despite the large size of the foundation, it had only three trustees. In comparison, the Gates Foundation, which is only 20 percent in size, has 15 members on its board.
Suzman said that Bill and Melinda Gates have reiterated their commitment to the foundation.
Buffett and Bill Gates have been friends for a long time. Gates has previously served on Berkshire’s board. Gates announced last year that he would step down from the Berkshire board.
Berkshire CEO Buffett decided to donate a large portion of his wealth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2006 because he believed the foundation was doing better.