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Warren Buffett, likely the largest philanthropist of all time, according to Forbes estimates, upped his giving by more than $1 billion.

In a letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Buffett said Monday he will donate about $1.15 billion worth of Berkshire stock to his family’s charitable foundations, including those run by his three children. The 94-year-old billionaire said he “never wished to create a dynasty” and confirmed he wants his children to “gradually distribut[e]” all of his Berkshire shares.

The legendary investor is the sixth-richest person in the world, with a net worth of about $150 billion, but he’s given away over half of his Berkshire shares since promising to give away most of his wealth in 2006.

Traders work the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Markets rallied in the first trading session since President-elect Donald Trump nominated Wall Street veteran Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary, as investors view him as a “thoughtful moderate” who will take a “more measured approach” to deploying Trump’s economic agenda. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 hit all-time highs Monday morning, while yields for 10-year U.S. government bonds slipped to a 2.5-week low (lower bond yields mean more valuable bonds).

Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith asked a judge to dismiss the felony charges against Trump for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss, and dropped a fight to reinstate classified document charges, effectively bringing Trump’s landmark federal prosecutions to an end. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan accepted Smith’s request Monday afternoon and dismissed the election subversion case without prejudice.

In late 2021, medical technology company Semler Scientific’s stock was in a deep rut, so the company used its cash to buy bitcoin. Now, its bitcoin gains amount to $31 million for 2024, 50% greater than the company’s 2023 net income. Semler Scientific is part of a wave of small public companies looking to infuse their sagging stocks with the pixie dust fueling the current bull market in crypto.

Walmart confirmed to several outlets that it will roll back some of its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives—including no longer giving priority treatment to suppliers based on race and gender, ending racial equity training for staffers and exiting from the LGBTQ rights group Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. The company also told AP that it plans to review grants for Pride events to ensure it was not........

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