June 25 (Bloomberg) -- Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor who pledged most of his fortune to charity last year, predicted the world will become increasingly philanthropic as the wealthy donate more of their assets.

``I've heard from a lot of people since last year that are making big plans,'' Buffett, 76, said in an interview today about his annual charity auction for the Glide Foundation. ``I know of one fellow that's just been involved in a public offering. I think he's going to be setting up a billion-dollar foundation.''

Buffett may have been referring to Peter G. Peterson, a co- founder of Blackstone Group LP, the New York-based private-equity firm that raised $4.13 billion in an initial public offering last week. Peterson, 81, plans to donate a ``substantial amount'' of the cash and stock he gets from the IPO to ``various charities,'' according to a June 21 filing by Blackstone with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

``Americans are becoming more philanthropically aware,'' said Buffett, who's ranked the world's third-richest man by Forbes magazine. ``I think it's a growing trend. I hope it is.''

A year ago Buffett said he would gradually distribute 85 percent of his shares in Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities. Ultimately, he plans to donate all his shares in the investment firm. His stake now, almost a third of the company's outstanding stock, is valued at more than $48 billion.

The annual charity auction on EBay Inc., which began yesterday and lasts through June 29, promises the highest bidder a ``power lunch'' with Buffett. His late wife, Susan Buffett, volunteered at Glide, a San Francisco-based homeless charity run by the Reverend Cecil Williams. Last year, Yongping Duan, a California investor, paid $620,100 for the privilege.

``I'll try to give them their money's worth,'' Buffett said today.

To contact the reporters on this story: Brian Sullivan in Omaha, Nebraska, at bsullivan@bloomberg.net; Helen Stock in New York at hstock@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 25, 2007 16:30 EDT