Warren Buffett donated $3.6 billion of Berkshire shares to five foundations

Warren Buffett said he would donate $3.6 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway shares to five foundations, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Omaha Oracle converted 11250 a shares into 16.875 million b shares. About 16.8 million class B shares will be donated to five foundations: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the Novo Foundation, the company said in a statement on Monday.

In a letter in 2006, Buffett promised to donate Berkshire's b-shares to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation every year. In that year, he donated $1.5 billion worth of shares.

Berkshire said Mr Buffett had never sold any Berkshire shares and that about 45 per cent of the shares he held in 2006 had been handed over to five foundations, totaling about $34 billion.

According to the company, Buffett plans to give away all Berkshire shares on an annual basis, which will be completed 10 years after his real estate settlement.

Mr Buffett is Berkshire's largest shareholder, with 37.4 per cent of a shares, according to FactSet. Berkshire's shares have risen 4.4% so far this year, well below the broader market.