Warren Buffett’s Philanthropy Drops Him to No. 10 of World’s Wealthiest

In late June, Buffett announced that he had donated Berkshire Hathaway shares valued at approximately $5.3 billion. This donation, along with a slight decrease in the value of his stock, resulted in Buffett dropping three spots to rank No. 10 among the world’s richest individuals as of July 1. This is Buffett’s lowest position in years.

Buffett is one of only two individuals in the top 10 to experience a drop in rank this month. Bernard Arnault, the French luxury goods magnate who was the world’s wealthiest person from February to late May, slipped to No. 3 due to a continued decline in shares of his LVMH group.

Conversely, Elon Musk retained his position as the world’s richest person, benefiting from a favorable June. Tesla shareholders approved Musk’s retention of nearly $50 billion in performance-based stock options. Although Forbes is discounting these options by 50% until Musk actually receives them, his net worth increased by $11.1 billion in June and nearly $19 billion over the past two months. Musk’s fortune may see another rise soon, as SpaceX is reportedly preparing to sell shares in a tender offer valuing the company at $210 billion, up from $180 billion last December. Musk holds an estimated 42% stake in SpaceX.

Jeff Bezos saw his fortune grow by $15.5 billion in the last month, moving him up to No. 2 as Amazon’s market capitalization surpassed $2 trillion for the first time in late June. The biggest financial gain in June belonged to Larry Ellison, whose wealth increased by $26.8 billion to an estimated $173 billion, driven by Oracle shares reaching all-time highs. Together, the top 10 richest individuals in the world are worth a combined $1.66 trillion, an increase of about $76 billion from a month ago.

Warren Buffett, often called the “Oracle of Omaha,” is renowned as one of the most successful investors ever. He leads the investment conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, which owns companies like Geico, Duracell, and Dairy Queen. Buffett, the son of a U.S. congressman, purchased his first stock at age 11 and filed his first tax return at age 13.

In 2010, Buffett co-founded the Giving Pledge with Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, encouraging billionaires to donate at least half their fortunes to charitable causes. Meanwhile, he has committed to give away 99% of his wealth. To date, he has donated $59.3 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Gates Foundation and foundations run by his children and his late first wife. His recent $5.3 billion donation in June contributed to his drop to No. 10 in the wealth rankings.

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