Foundations Hoard Assets, Philanthropist Tells Senate

By Peter Panepento

The billionaire investor Warren Buffett told a key Senate committee that he believes private foundations are stockpiling money instead of giving it to charities because of a federal law that requires foundations to spend at least 5 percent of their assets annually.

Mr. Buffett, speaking at a hearing held by the Senate Finance Committee on the estate tax, told lawmakers that he finds it "astounding" that 27 of the 30 largest foundations in the United States spend almost exactly 5