Warren Buffett said he is stepping down as a trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and that he has donated half his wealth since pledging 15 years ago to give away the fortune he built up running Berkshire Hathaway.
Mr Buffett, 90, said he has been an "inactive trustee" for years at the foundation, but fully supported its new chief executive and that their goals remained "100 per cent in sync".
The nonprofit's future has been uncertain following last month's announcement that co-founders Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates were divorcing after 27 years of marriage.
Mr Buffett did not mention the divorce as a reason for his resignation, noting he has given up all directorships outside Berkshire, reducing his workload.
The Gates Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mr Buffett donated $4.1 billion of Berkshire shares to the Gates Foundation and four family charities on Wednesday, part of his 2006 pledge to donate about 99 per cent of his net worth to philanthropy.
He has since donated more than $41.5bn of Berkshire shares, a sum now equal to about $100bn, as the stock price has risen.
The Gates Foundation received four fifths of the donations. Founded in 2000, it focuses on combating poverty, disease and inequity, spending $54.8bn on such projects in its first two decades.
Arguably the world's most famous investor, Mr Buffett has since 1965 built Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire into a more than $600bn conglomerate, owning businesses such as the BNSF railroad and Geico auto insurance as well as stocks such as Apple.
"Over many decades, I have accumulated an almost incomprehensible sum simply by doing what I love to do," Mr Buffett said. "Society has a use for my money; I don't."
Wednesday's donations also go to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named after Mr Buffett's late first wife, and charities run by Mr Buffett's children Howard, Susan and Peter: the Howard G Buffett Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation and the Novo Foundation.
Had Mr Buffett not made his donations, his fortune would roughly equal that of Amazo founder Jeff Bezos, the world's richest person, according to Forbes magazine.
Mr Gates and Mr Buffett also pioneered "The Giving Pledge", through which more than 200 people, including Michael Bloomberg, Larry Ellison, Carl Icahn, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, committed at least half their fortunes to philanthropy.
Society has a use for my money; I don't.
Mr Buffett's statement also addressed recent criticism after a ProPublica investigation found that he and other wealthy people paid low taxes relative to their fortunes.
He said his donations have resulted in only about 40 cents of tax savings per $1,000 given.
"Nevertheless, tax deductions are important to many – particularly to the super-rich – who give large amounts of cash or securities to philanthropy," he said.
Mr Buffett also used references to American football to assure fans he has no plans to step away, including from Berkshire.
"These remarks are no swan song," he said. "I still relish being on the field and carrying the ball. But I'm clearly playing in a game that, for me, has moved past the fourth quarter into overtime."
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
LAST-16 EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES
Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)
FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm
Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm
Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm
Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm
Thursday
Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm
Sevilla v Roma (one leg only) 8.55pm
FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm
Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
