Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation
| Formation | 1964 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Warren Buffett |
| Founded at | Omaha, Nebraska |
Key people | Allen Greenberg (Executive Director) |
| Website | https://buffettscholarships.org/ |
The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, previously The Buffett Foundation, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization founded in 1964 in Omaha, Nebraska.[1] It invests heavily in reproductive health and family planning grants across the world, including substantial investments in abortion and contraceptives.[2][3] By 2008, it had nearly $4 billion in assets,[4] and as of 2014, it ranked fourth among family foundations by grants paid.
History
The foundation provides grants to both U.S. and international organizations, including the Willows Foundation in Turkey (€2.3 million), the World Food Programme in Italy (€800,000), Marie Stopes International in the UK (€571,000), and Grupo de Informacion en Reproduccion Elegida in Mexico (€196,000).[5] Though his original intention was to leave 99% of his estate to the Buffett Foundation, in June 2006 Warren Buffett announced he would give 85% of his wealth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation instead, claiming he believed it would use his money effectively since it was already scaled-up.[6]
When Susan Buffett died in 2004, the foundation was renamed in her honor.[7]
Advocacy
Pro Abortion
In the 1990s, the Buffett Foundation helped finance the development of the abortion drug RU-486. Between 2001 and 2014, the foundation contributed over $1.5 billion to abortion related causes, including at least $427 million to Planned Parenthood and $168 million to the National Abortion Federation. It has also funded the Guttmacher Institute, which tracks demographic and legislative trends, and Gynuity Health Projects, which focuses on medication abortion.[8]
In 1999, the foundation contributed $2.5 million to International Projects Assistance Services (IPAS), a manufacturer based in Carrboro, North Carolina that makes handheld suction pumps for developing countries to initiate abortions. It was part of a five-year, $20 million commitment that enabled IPAS to double its capacity.[9] At the end of that fiscal year, nearly $3.8 million of the $17.6 million donated went to Planned Parenthood.[4]
Other initiatives
In 2007, Omaha's Building Bright Futures initiative promised financial support to low-income students in the area who wanted to attend college.[10]
References
- ↑ Loomis, Carol (June 25, 2006). "Warren Buffett gives away his fortune". Fortune. Archived from the original on July 1, 2006. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
- ↑ Weise, Karen (July 30, 2015). "Warren Buffett's Family Secretly Funded a Birth Control Revolution". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
- ↑ Callahan, David. "Keeping Tabs on the Billions and Billions That Warren Buffett Is Giving Away". No. July 13, 2017. Inside Philanthropy. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
- 1 2 "The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation". Propublica. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
- ↑ "Philanthropy in Europe". No. 24. 2007. Archived from the original on 2009-05-25.
- ↑ Loomis, Carol J. (2006-06-25). "A conversation with Warren Buffett". Fortune magazine. Archived from the original on 2010-03-02. Retrieved 2006-07-01.
- ↑ Wooster, Martin Morse (2011-11-02). "Warren Buffett: A Wealthy Philanthropist with Some Bad Ideas". Capital Research Center. Retrieved 2017-12-27.
- ↑ Martin, Nina (July 14, 2016). "How One Abortion Research Megadonor Forced the Supreme Court's Hand". Mother Jones. ProPublica. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
- ↑ Anthony Bianco (October 25, 1999). "CHARITY, THE BUFFETT WAY". Business Week. Archived from the original on 2011-04-13.
- ↑ Jeff Robb (September 7, 2008). "Buffett program expands college aid". The Omaha World Herald.