Warren Buffett makes $3.17B donation to charities

July 11 (UPI) -- Warren Buffett donated $3.17 billion to charity on Monday, the most the investor and philanthropist has given in a single day, a company statement said.

For Buffet, chairman of holding company Berkshire Hathaway Inc., a massive donation is an annual summer event. On Monday he gave 18.6 billion Class B shares in the company a number of organizations: the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Buffett's education-focused charity, named after his late wife Susan; the Sherwood Foundation, whose chairman is their daughter; the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, led by his eldest son Howard; and the NoVo Foundation, led by Buffett's youngest son Peter.

The $3.17 billion donation was an increase from Buffett's $2.86 billion bequest in 2016. The value of Berkshire Hathaway stock rose 17 percent since last July.

In 2006, Buffett announced plans to give away his shares in Berkshire Hathaway. He an Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates launched The Giving Pledge in 2010, which encourages billionaires to dedicate their fortunes to philanthropic causes. Among the 170 people who have agreed to the pledge are the late David Rockefeller and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

After Buffett's announcement of the 2017 donation, his net worth dropped from $76.3 billion to $73.1 billion, Forbes said, but he remains the fourth-wealthiest person in the world.