Despite being known for his philanthropy and frugal lifestyle, Warren Buffett reportedly used to gift his family members thousands of dollars in cash.
The billionaire’s former daughter-in-law, Mary Buffett, who was married to his son Peter in the 1980s, said that he would gift $10,000 in hundred-dollar bills.
But that was until he found out how the family members were spending the cash.
‘As soon as we got home, we’d spend it, whoo!’ Mary said in a 2019 interview with ThinkAdvisor.
‘Then, one Christmas there was an envelope with a letter from him. Instead of cash, he’d given us $10,000 worth of shares in a company he’d recently bought, a trust Coca Cola had,’ she said.
Mary told the outlet that Buffett, who is now worth $147 billion, told her to either cash in the shares or to keep them.
‘I thought: “Well, [the stock] is worth more than $10,000. So I kept it, and it kept going up,”‘ she added.
She said that from that year on, Buffett kept giving stocks as gifts, which would grow in the long-term.
The billionaire’s former daughter-in-law, Mary Buffett, who was married to his son Peter in the 1980s, said that he would gift $10,000 in hundred-dollar bills
Mary added that she would continue to buy shares in whatever company her former father-in-law had given her, as she ‘knew it was going to go up.’
Shares often rise after Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway discloses that it has bought particular stocks or shares, as investors believe that Buffett is providing a seal of approval.
When it came to getting a Christmas gift for her then father-in-law, Mary said she realized that due to his extreme wealth, he ‘doesn’t want anything,’ Fortune reported.
Instead, she presented him with the balance sheet of the music company she owned with Peter to show him that it was profitable.
Mary, who is an author and personal finance expert herself, was married to Peter for more than a decade between 1981 and 1993.
Mary was married to Peter Buffett for more than a decade (Pictured: Howard, Susie, Warren and Peter Buffett in 2011)
Mary Buffett said her former father-in-law Warren would gift company stocks at Christmas
94-year-old Buffett is famous for saying that he will not leave his staggering wealth to his children, and to give away 99 percent of the money he has made.
And the renowned investor has spoken up about some of his reasons why in recent weeks.
The so-called ‘Oracle of Omaha’ said that he ‘never wished to create a dynasty.’
Buffett made the comments last month as he named three independent trustees to oversee his philanthropy following his three children, CNBC reported.
In a letter, the billionaire wrote: ‘I’ve never wished to create a dynasty or pursue any plan that extended beyond the children.
‘I know the three well and trust them completely. Future generations are another matter. Who can foresee the priorities, intelligence and fidelity of successive generations to deal with the distribution of extraordinary wealth amid what may be a far different philanthropic landscape?’
Buffett has three children, who are now 71, 69 and 66 years old. He has anticipated that his wealth may take longer to disburse than his children live.
Alongside the appointment of trustees, Buffett also donated an additional $1.1 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock to his family’s four charitable foundations.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk