Gift overview in 2006

Biggest beneficiary: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Other key beneficiaries: Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation; Howard G. Buffett Foundation; Susan A. Buffett Foundation; NoVo Foundation, Nuclear Threat Initiative
Donor's background: Mr. Buffett is chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, an insurance and investment company in Omaha.

Donations in 2006

Mr. Buffett, 76, pledged 10 million shares of Berkshire Hathaway class "B" stock worth approximately $36.1-billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in Seattle. The money will be used to support the foundation's work on global health and improving American schools. Mr. Buffett's pledge to the Gates Foundation is the largest in the history of philanthropy.

When Mr. Buffett announced his pledge in June, the stock shares were worth more than $30-billion.

Mr. Buffett paid $1.6-billion -- 5 percent of the total pledge -- last August, when the stock was worth $3,206 per share. He said he would continue to pay the foundation 5 percent of the remaining balance of the earmarked shares every year until his death.

To continue to receive the donation, Mr. Buffett said, several conditions must be met. Starting in 2009 the Gates Foundation is required to spend Mr. Buffett's annual payout from the previous year, plus the yearly amount the federal government requires all private foundations to disburse - usually at least 5 percent of the value of a foundation's assets.

Mr. Buffett also stipulated that either Mr. or Ms. Gates must be alive and actively involved in managing the foundation.

In addition, Mr. Buffett pledged one million shares of the class "B" stock worth $3.6-billion -- of which $151.3-million has been paid -- to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, in Omaha. The foundation supports education, medical research, and efforts to curb population growth. It was named for Mr. Buffett's first wife, Susan, who was president of the foundation until her death in 2004.

Mr. Buffett also pledged 350,000 shares of the stock worth $1.3-billion to each one of his three children's foundations: the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, in Decatur, Ill.; the Susan A. Buffett Foundation, in Omaha; and the NoVo Foundation, Peter Buffett's foundation in New York.

Each one of the three foundations received $52.9-million last year, and as he did with his pledge to the Gates Foundation, Mr. Buffett said he would pay the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and the three foundations run by his children 5 percent of the remaining balance of the shares every year until his death.

At the time he made these pledges, Mr. Buffett said he intended to write a new will that would continue his commitments to both the Gates Foundation and the foundations run by his family.

Mr. Buffett also pledged $50-million to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, in Washington, where he has served as an adviser since 2002. The money will be used to establish an international nuclear-fuel reserve to provide uranium for energy use to countries that agree not to build nuclear facilities. The International Atomic Energy Agency will manage the reserve. Mr. Buffett said he would fulfill the pledge only if $100-million is raised by governments from across the globe for the project within the next two years.