QuestionerMr. Buffett, you state in your annual letter to shareholders that in your will, you have given instructions to the trustee who will be acting for your wife's benefit to put 10% of the cash given her in short-term government bonds and 90% in a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund. My question is, why are you advising the trustee to put 90% of the cash into an S&P 500 index fund instead of into Berkshire shares. This might imply that you expect the index fund to outperform Berkshire in the future when the company is run by a new CEO and chairman. Please clarify.
WarrenYeah, I'll be glad to clarify. That letter didn't come from Vanguard by any chance. When I die, incidentally, all of the Berkshire shares I have at that point, point will go to five different foundations, every single share. I mean, there are no shares that have not been designated mentally to charity. A good many have been designated specifically in numbers and all of that. But, and they will be, they will be distributed over the 10 years after my estate is closed. So figure over 12 years, and I tell my, I tell my, I tell the trustee, sees that will be holding these shares, you know, don't sell any Berkshire shares until they have to be sold. So my views on Berkshire, at least through 12 years after my death, are as bullish as anybody could possibly come up with. And incidentally, without those kind of instructions, anybody would say, you know, you're crazy to keep many, many billions of dollars all in one stock. I can't think of anything better to do it over those 12 years. In terms of my wife's situation, you know, You know, that is not a question of maximizing capital. It's just a question of total 100% peace of mind on something that cannot get a bad result. And like I say, there's way more money for than she'll ever use. As a matter of fact, those of you who know or, you know, may feel that I've added about three zeros too many. But it is not designed for her to get even larger. There will be capital, loads of capital left over on that part of it. On the part that I care about maximizing, I have instructed the three trustees to not sell a single share until it has to be sold. So that's good for 12 years after I die as to my best advice as to what I want them to hold.