Billionaire Buffett to Give Away Most of Fortune
LIN: Across America now, this symbolic cornerstone of the Freedom Tower in New York is gone from ground zero, at least for now. Crews had to remove the 20-ton block of granite. A redesign of the building made its location simply obsolete. So it expected to return to the site in about two years. Now, it's a day of remembrance for the 19 U.S. airmen killed in a terrorist bombing in Saudi Arabia. It was 10 years ago that a truck bomb exploded outside the Khobar Towers military dorm. Families marked the anniversary at Arlington National Cemetery. And police in Las Vegas say a fight in a casino turned deadly this morning. It happened at the Silver Nugget. Surveillance video shows a man pulling a gun after another man threw a drink at him. A woman who was playing slot machines nearby was wounded. And thousands of people turned out for San Francisco's 36th annual gay pride parade today. But there was something new this year. Parade goers say they have never seen so many big corporations sponsoring the floats. Well, he is the second richest man in the world, but he may not be for long. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says he is going to give away most of his multi-billion-dollar fortune, less -- to the less fortunate. Now, it will be the largest philanthropic gift in history. Buffett is worth about $44 billion, and he's pledged to give away 85 percent of it. The 75-year-old CEO controls Berkshire Hathaway. He plans to gradually give away the bulk of his stock to five foundations, most of it going to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is focused on ridding the world of malaria, AIDS and other diseases. So joining us now is a man who knows Buffett and his motivations perhaps better than anyone, biographer Andrew Kilpatrick. Andrew, good to have you.</s>ANDREW KILPATRICK, WARREN BUFFETT BIOGRAPHER: Thank you.</s>LIN: So, many people thought that Buffett would never give away his money to charity until after he died. So why the change of heart?</s>KILPATRICK: Well, Carol, that's right. He has always said it would be after he died. He has changed it. I think Gates has influenced him a lot. And I think what he sees is that the Gates Foundation can do a better of job of giving than he can. And what this is really is a merger of Buffett and Gates. It's not a business deal, but it's two great minds joined together for charity.</s>LIN: So that explains perhaps why he gave it to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation? I mean, to have the second richest man give his fortune to the richest man in the country might make sense?</s>KILPATRICK: Well, it's pretty funny, but he says he's really not giving it to Bill Gates, he's giving it through Bill Gates to give to the causes that that foundation deems the best uses of the money.</s>LIN: Which is already worth something like $30 billion already, even without Buffett's money.</s>KILPATRICK: Right.</s>LIN: So I guess relationships mean a lot to the man, then, perhaps.</s>KILPATRICK: The relationship does mean a lot. They met in '91. They play bridge together, travel together, been to each other's football games and homes, and I think they've talked about this for a long, long time. But people always thought -- or I always thought that maybe they would do some business deal, you know, Berkshire and Microsoft would merge or something, but that hasn't made much sense. But this really is almost a merger of Berkshire and Microsoft in some way. I mean, the stocks of these companies are really going to this great charitable interest. And it's just that he sees that the Gates Foundation has the staff and the manpower and is already ramped up and running, and that they can do a better job, and he admits it. He says, if you're going to bet on a golf game, go with Tiger Woods. So he's doing it the way he thinks the money will do best for the society.</s>LIN: Andrew, give us the inside story on -- what the children's reaction would be? I mean, Buffett has always said that he wasn't going to give them his fortune, that he wanted them to have the incentive to work. But I'm wondering, what are their feelings about their dad and his money?</s>KILPATRICK: This is a question about their children. It's -- they've joked about it, saying that's not what their mother used to think, but they're in full agreement with their father about this. I mean, they joke about it...</s>LIN: Not bitter.</s>KILPATRICK: But they -- they are in synch with him. In fact, some of the money is going to the children's foundation, so that they can give it to the cause that they believe in.</s>LIN: Andrew Kilpatrick, interesting. All right, it's going to be a big story this week. Appreciate your time. A programming note: The "Fortune" editor who filed the report about Buffett's benevolence is a guest tomorrow on "American Morning," starting at 6:00 a.m. Eastern. Now, Warren Buffett isn't the only one being recognized for giving back. On the cover of "Newsweek" today, if you look behind Brad Pitt, that's CNN's Soledad O'Brien, who's received a giving back award. Soledad is honored for her reporting during Hurricane Katrina. Brad Pitt got the honor for publicizing issues affecting Africa, where he and Angelina Jolie recently had their baby. The Target chain is named for its contributions to charity, and also the Boys and Girls Club, for 100 years of helping poor children. Fires in the west, floods in the east. Plenty of severe weather across the nation.