Early Berkshire Investors Produce Windfall for Neb. Charities

Schools, hospitals, and other nonprofits in Nebraska have been major beneficiaries of the largely local investors who parlayed early stakes in Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway into multimillion- and even billion-dollar fortunes, writes The Wall Street Journal.

Many shareholders who bought into the Omaha-based holding company decades ago and hewed to Mr. Buffett’s “buy-and-hold” strategy as its value soared have also followed his philanthropic lead, pumping more than $1 billion into Nebraska charities.

Berkshire investors represent 5 percent of contributors to the Omaha Community Foundation but account for about 20 percent of its donations, giving more than $300 million. Sara Boyd, the fund’s president, said the shareholders tend to view their wealth as a “happy accident” and are thus willing to give away large chunks of it.

Mr. Buffett said he expects a “high percentage” of major Berkshire shareholders to commit most of their fortunes to charity, as he has done, the Journal also writes in a larger article on what it calls the investment sage’s “lucky millionaires club.”