Warren Buffett, known as the Oracle of Omaha, is one of the most successful investors ever. His disciplined approach to investing, understanding of markets, and financial foresight have made him a global icon and model of success in the often-turbulent business world.
Buffett’s investments can move markets and influence corporate decisions. Investors and business leaders worldwide closely follow his every move and hang on his every word about the economy and investing.
However, Buffett, who eschews a family dynasty and is committed to giving his wealth away, also has lessons to teach about estate planning. His estate plan, which he updated most recently in 2024, has evolved to accommodate changing circumstances while staying true to his deeply held beliefs.
Warren Buffett was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1930.1 His father, Howard Buffett, was a stockbroker and congressman,2 who provided Warren with early exposure to the world of finance.
Buffett displayed a knack for business as a child, selling chewing gum, operating pinball machines, and delivering newspapers.3 He bought his first stock at age 114 and filed his first tax return at 14.5
At Columbia Business School, Buffett studied under Benjamin Graham, a promoter of value investing and coauthor of the book Security Analysis,6 which strongly influenced Buffett’s investment strategy of buying undervalued companies with strong potential for growth.7 Buffett’s investing rules include “Never lose money,” “Focus on the long term,” and “Know what you’re investing in.”8 He stresses avoiding speculative investments that could lead to losses.9
He first applied these principles to Buffett Partnership Ltd., an investment partnership that made him a millionaire by 1962 at 32,10 and later to Berkshire Hathaway, a struggling textile company he took control of in 1965 and transformed into a vehicle for his wide-ranging investments.11
Today, Berkshire Hathaway has assets worth over $1 trillion.12 It owns or has stakes in iconic companies such as Coca-Cola, Apple, Bank of America, and Kraft Heinz.13 Buffett holds approximately 31 percent of the voting interest in Berkshire Hathaway,14 And has an estimated net worth of $140–$150 billion, placing him among the 10 wealthiest people in the world.15
However, Buffett's story is as much about his humility, generosity, and openness as it is about generating personal riches through the stock market.
Despite his immense wealth, Buffett leads a modest lifestyle and has long pledged to give 99 percent of his wealth to philanthropic causes.16 His annual letters to shareholders are a model of transparency. In them, he openly discusses the company’s successes and failures and shares insights into his decision-making process.17
Buffett, the man who has taken advantage of a long investment timeline by continually reinvesting Berkshire Hathaway’s profits to compound the interest on them, admits his timeline is nearing an end.
“I feel good but fully realize I am playing in extra innings,” he wrote in a 2023 Thanksgiving letter to shareholders.18 Buffett will resign this year as Chairman but wants to remain active.
“After my death, the disposition of my assets will be an open book—no ‘imaginative’ trusts or foreign entities to avoid public scrutiny but rather a simple will available for inspection at the Douglas County Courthouse,”19 in Omaha, Nebraska, where he was born and still lives, in the same house he bought in 1958, before he made his first million dollars.20
Buffett avoids trends regarding his legacy. While many high-net-worth individuals are known for their philanthropy, few have been as vocal as Buffett about an aversion to family dynasties. Buffett has also consistently spoken about his belief in meritocracy and the potential downsides of inherited wealth, which he shares with his children, reiterated in a 2023 Berkshire Hathaway news release.21
“My children, along with their father, have a common belief that dynastic wealth, though both legal and common in much of the world, including the United States, is not desirable,” he wrote.22
In an online pledge summarizing his philanthropic intentions, he explained that he considers his incredible wealth to be essentially the result of fortunate circumstances and that it should go, not to his own family, who already live comfortable lives, but to improving the health and welfare of those who, unlike him and his children, “received the short straws in life.”23
A large donation was made in June 2024, when Buffett announced that he had given more than $55 billion to five charities, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation,24 named for his first wife, who passed away in 2004.
Initially, Buffett planned to leave the bulk of his wealth to Susan, trusting her to manage their charitable giving.25 After Susan's death, Buffett had to reevaluate his plan. He began making annual gifts to the Gates Foundation and four family foundations run by his children, shifting toward more direct involvement in his philanthropy.26
Over the years, Buffett has continued to refine his estate plan and how it will distribute his massive wealth upon his death. In keeping with his management style—a delegative, hands-off approach that empowers his executives to make decisions—he has given more discretion to his children.
“My three children are the executors of my current will as well as the named trustees of the charitable trust that will receive 99%-plus of my wealth according to the will's provisions,”27 Buffett wrote in 2023. “They were not fully prepared for this awesome responsibility in 2006, but they are now.”28
However, Buffett also revealed significant changes to his estate plan to The Wall Street Journal in 2024. At his death, he will cease donations to the Gates Foundation, and his remaining wealth will be directed to a new charitable trust to be overseen by his children.29 They must unanimously agree on which causes to fund and in what amount.30 Buffett explains that he inserted the unanimous agreement provision to protect his children from being individually approached by friends, other people, or institutions and becoming “targets of opportunity” from would-be grant-seekers.31 When a unanimous decision is required, the child approached may use the excuse of claiming that one of their siblings would disagree.
“I like to think I can think outside the box, but I’m not sure if I can think outside the box when it’s 6 feet below the surface and do a better job than three people who are on the surface who I trust completely,” Buffett said.32
He added that his plan provides flexibility, enabling his children to respond to any law changes governing taxes and foundations.33
However, the 94-year-old Buffett notes that his children, ages 71, 69, and 66 as of 2024, may not live long enough to distribute his wealth. In a 2024 shareholder letter, he announced that he has selected three successor trustees.34
“Each is well known to my children and makes sense to all of us. They are also somewhat younger than my children,” he wrote.35
Buffett ends the letter with estate planning advice for parents.36 He stresses that communicating with children now, when they can understand a parent’s testamentary choices, ask questions, and give suggestions, can help avoid jealousies, conflicts, and infighting later.37
“When your children are mature, have them read your will before you sign it,” he wrote. “Be sure each child understands the logic for your decisions and the responsibilities they will encounter upon your death.”38
We can learn many things from Warren Buffett. Part of his legacy will be how he kept things simple in his personal and professional lives despite the complexities of managing one of the world's largest fortunes.
Buffett's plan is ordinary for someone with extraordinary net worth. Like his investment approach, his approach to estate planning relies on a few basic principles, including flexibility and transparency, to guide his unwavering commitment to philanthropy.
You may have used or considered using Buffett’s investment advice to generate more wealth for you and your family. You can also use his estate planning strategies to inform your plan for what will happen to that wealth, whether it goes to charity, family, or a mix of the two.
Your legacy is a work in progress, and your estate plan should be. Continually refining your plan can reflect changes in your life, those of your loved ones, and circumstances beyond your control, while following your core convictions.
Call the attorneys at Altman & Associates at 301-468-3220 to review your estate plan and make any necessary adjustments. We recommend a review every four years. You can also reach us through our website at altmanassociates.net to schedule a meeting.
