Reply #50: Actually, I do: "Mr. Buffett has also already sheltered the bulk of his fortune

[EdMaven]

from federal taxes by putting them into a foundation..."

I also know that practically every big shot billionaire in the US has some kind of "foundation" & they're all tax shelters. They need only spend 5% of assets every year on the projects of their choice while making more than that on their "investments". Thus they can be eternal investment funds & major avenues for directing the flow of capital.

Trusts are another avenue; some go way back.

Bessemer Trust is a wealth management and investment advisory firm established in 1907 by Henry Phipps, a partner of Andrew Carnegie in the Carnegie Steel Company. From 1907 to 1974 the private company managed the substantial assets of the Phipps family and was headed by a family member. It has been ranked by FundFire as the number one private wealth management firm in the United States<1>

In 1974, Bessemer Trust Company's developed expertise allowed it to take on other clients through the creation of a national bank headquartered in New York City. In 1985, the business expanded to the Cayman Islands and the following year opened an office in London, England. In the mid 1990s, Bessemer Trust opened California branch offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco then in 2001 in Dallas, Texas.

The current Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bessemer Trust is the great grandson of Henry Phipps, Stuart S. Janney, III, who succeeded Ogden Mills Phipps in 1994.