Howard Buffett, son of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, is donating millions of dollars from his foundation in support of Ukraine after meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The Howard G. Buffett Foundation donated $2.7 million to the citizen-funded nonprofit Spirit of America, which is delivering nine 50-passenger buses to the Ukrainian Territory Defense Forces. The Buffett Foundation’s donation also funded 375 advanced trauma kits for Ukrainians on the front lines.
“I’ve never quite seen anything like this in my lifetime,” Buffett said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Monday. “It’s millions of refugees trying to leave the country and it’s just an overwhelming situation for the country… I believe we’ve got to support Ukraine in this fight. It’s a difficult fight for them.”
Buffett, the chairman and CEO of Howard G. Buffett Foundation as well as a director at Berkshire Hathaway, met with Zelenskyy on Wednesday in Ukraine capital Kyiv.
“We appreciate this signal of solidarity,” Zelenskyy said in a tweet Wednesday. “Expressed gratitude for the humanitarian support. Invited him to join projects on restoring irrigation systems in the Odesa region, demining and school nutrition reform.”
Warren Buffett, left, and his eldest son, Howard G. Buffett
Peter Kramer | NBC | Getty Images
Russia’s forces invaded Ukraine in February, with the conflict now turning into a town-by-town fight as Russia tries to consolidate territory in the east. The U.S. has been sending Ukraine military assistance, including advanced rocket-launcher systems and missiles.
The Howard G. Buffett Foundation was established in 1999 and has been fighting conflicts, food insecurity and human trafficking among the world’s most impoverished and marginalized populations. It had $529 million in assets at the end of 2020.
Warren Buffett has pledged to give away all of his Berkshire shares through annual gifts to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation and others.
Howard Buffett is expected to eventually succeed his father as Berkshire chairman to preserve its unique culture.
