Warren Buffett Forecasts an Explosion in Giving

Warren Buffett, the multibillionaire investor who last year donated most of his money to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, says that “Americans are becoming more philanthropically aware,” reports Bloomberg.

“I’ve heard from a lot of people since last year that are making big plans,’‘ Mr. Buffett says. “I know of one fellow that’s just been involved in a public offering. I think he’s going to be setting up a billion-dollar foundation.’‘

The news service speculates that Mr. Buffett is referring to Peter G. Peterson, a co-founder of Blackstone Group LP, a private-equity firm that last week raised $4.13-billion in an initial public offering.

Mr. Buffett is promoting an eBay charity auction for a “power lunch” with the Berkshire Hathaway chairman. The proceeds from the auction, which ends June 29, benefit the Glide Foundation, a charity that serves homeless people.

Read more about Mr. Buffett’s gifts to the Gates foundation, the Glide Foundation, and his children’s foundations in The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

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