Susan T. Buffett, the wife of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, died Thursday of a stroke while visiting friends in Cody, Wyo., Buffett’s company said.
Buffett, chairman of Omaha-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and a hugely influential investor, was with his wife when she died, the company said.
Laurie Sparr, a spokeswoman for West Park Hospital in Cody, said Susan Buffett was admitted to the hospital Wednesday night and died early Thursday morning.
Susan Buffett, 72, was a director at Berkshire and stood to inherit her husband’s fortune. Buffett has said his stock in Berkshire, valued at about $42.9 billion, would go to his wife upon his death and then to a foundation.
Buffett, who lives in Omaha, and his wife married in 1952 and have lived separately for many years. While she spent much of her time in San Francisco, they often traveled and spent time together.
Susan Buffett was treated for mouth cancer last fall, and it was announced last week that Warren and Susan Buffett donated $6 million to five California medical specialists who coordinated the treatment. Doctors had said she was doing “extremely well” after the surgery and radiation therapy that followed.
The Buffetts had three children, Susie, 50, who lives in Omaha; Howard, 49, who lives near Decatur, Ill., and who also is on Berkshire’s board; and Peter, 46, who is a musician living in Milwaukee.
