Warren Buffett’s $140 Billion Giveaway: Will Trump Accounts Get a Slice?
A top Bloomberg analyst has a bold idea for Warren Buffett. Eric Balchunas says the investor should give his Berkshire Hathaway shares to Trump Accounts, the new government investment accounts for American children.
Balchunas shared the idea on Tuesday. Buffett, 95, plans to give away his remaining Berkshire stake, worth about $140 billion, by the end of 2034.
Why Balchunas Points Buffett to Trump Accounts
Trump Accounts launched on July 4. They were created under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a new tax law. Every eligible child born between 2025 and 2028 gets a $1,000 deposit from the Treasury.
Families can add up to $5,000 per year. The money sits in an S&P 500 index fund called SPYM by default. The Treasury picked Robinhood and BNY to run the app and the accounts.
Balchunas, the senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, thinks the accounts are a natural match for Buffett. Almost all of Buffett’s wealth is Berkshire stock. He has also promised to give more than 99% of it away.
“I’ve thought about this for a while and have come to the conclusion that Warren Buffett et al could/should choose Trump Accounts as the destination for donating their stock shares,” he wrote.
He listed several benefits. Stock gifts could narrow the wealth gap and teach kids about investing. They also skip capital gains tax. And children holding Berkshire shares would carry Buffett’s legacy forward.
There is a precedent. Michael and Susan Dell pledged $6.25 billion to the program. Their gift gives $250 each to about 25 million children in lower-income ZIP codes.
Why It May Never Happen
Buffett’s money is already going elsewhere. On July 14, he gave nearly $6 billion in Berkshire shares to his four family foundations. He also cut out the Gates Foundation for the first time since 2006.
“My goal is to dispose of all of my Berkshire shares within about eight years,” Buffett said in a statement.
The rules are another problem. The accounts only take cash today. Congress also limited them to US index funds with fees under 0.1%.
Changing that would take a new law. Altimeter Capital CEO Brad Gerstner has pushed to allow stock gifts from billionaires. Even he faces that wall.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has hinted that Bitcoin (BTC) could join the accounts one day.
For now, it is just an idea. Buffett’s next round of giving will show whether Trump Accounts ever make his list.
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