Buffett Children Emerge as a Force in Charity

The three middle-aged children of Warren E. Buffett watched along with the rest of the country last week as their father, the celebrated investor, told the world that he would pass the bulk of his $40 billion personal fortune to the charitable foundation of Bill Gates, a fellow billionaire, and his wife, Melinda.

But Susie, Howard and Peter Buffett who, like their self-effacing father seem little affected by money, spent the week focusing not on what they might have received.

Instead, the siblings said in interviews, they were already at work trying to figure out how to manage a gift from their father valued at about $1 billion each that will go to their own charitable foundations.

That will propel them, along with a larger foundation named for their late mother, into the top ranks of philanthropy.

[Excerpt pf article by Jeff Bailey, The New York Times]