1. She left significant amounts of money to Kathleen Cole and Ron Parks, her longtime trusted caretakers and friends. She left her grandchildren and other people modest amounts, from $10,000 to $100,000.
2. Interview with Tom Newman.
3. Interview with Peter Buffett.
4. A. D. Amorosi, “In ‘Spirit,’ Tradition Is Besieged by Modern Life,” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 23, 2005.
5. Warren Buffett letter to Nicole Buffett, August 10, 2006.
6. Richard Johnson with Paula Froelich, Chris Wilson, and Bill Hoffmann, “Buffett to Kin: You’re Fired!,” New York Post, September 7, 2006.
7. Leah McGrath Goodman, “The Billionaire’s Black Sheep,” Marie Claire, December 2008.
8. Interview with Sharon Osberg.
9. Berkshire Hathaway annual letter to shareholders, 2005.
10. Charles R. Morris, The Trillion Dollar Meltdown. New York: Public Affairs, 2008.
11. Interview with Charlie Munger.
12. Carol Loomis, “Warren Buffett Gives It Away,” Fortune, July 10, 2006.
13. Ibid.
14. Buffett could not resist: The note that accompanied Bertie’s letter containing this comment said, “She’s still smarting about that a little bit.”
15. Interview with Doris Buffett.
16. In installments beginning in 2006, as long as either Bill or Melinda Gates is active in the foundation.
17. The first installment of 602,500 shares declined 5% a year in terms of shares thereafter. Buffett expected, as was reasonable at the time, that the price of Berkshire’s stock would increase by at least 5% a year (through modest growth and inflation). Thus, the dollar value of the gifts was likely to remain level or even increase from year to year. During the year between the first gift and the second, Berkshire’s stock price went up 17%. The first 602,500-B-share distribution was worth $1.8 billion, compared to the second 572,375-B-share distribution worth $2 billion. In June 2006, BRK was trading at $91,500 (B shares at $3,043).
18. As quoted in “The Life Well Spent: An Evening with Warren Buffett,” November 2007.
19. Bill Gates used the term “convenors.” This approach differs, for example, from annually funding a vaccine program, which requires a continuing investment without a permanent cure.
20. “The New Powers of Giving,” Economist, July 6, 2006; Karen DeYoung, “Gates, Rockefeller Charities Join to Fight African Hunger,” Washington Post, September 13, 2006; Han Wilhelm, “Big Changes at the Rockefeller Foundation,” Chronicle of Philanthropy, September 8, 2006; Andrew Jack, “Manna from Omaha: A Year of ‘Giving While Living’ Transforms Philanthropy,” Financial Times, December 27, 2006.
21. Interview with Doris Buffett. See Sally Beaty, “The Wealth Report: The Other Buffett,” Wall Street Journal, August 3, 2007.
22. After Susie’s death, both of her apartments in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights were sold, as was the Buffetts’ second house, “the dormitory,” in Emerald Bay. Buffett kept the original house in Emerald Bay, which continues to be used by his children and grandchildren. He never goes there.