Buffett ends donations to Gates Foundation

Warren Buffett has left the Gates Foundation out of his annual charitable giving, redirecting about $6 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock to four foundations tied to his own family after disclosures about Bill Gates’ contacts with Jeffrey Epstein.

The 95-year-old investor did not mention Gates or Epstein in his announcement. But the move marks a sharp turn in one of the most prominent philanthropic partnerships in the world. Since Buffett pledged in 2006 to give away his fortune, the Gates Foundation has received the largest share of his gifts — more than $61 billion, according to The Guardian.

Buffett said his latest donations will go to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and three foundations run by his children: the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G Buffett Foundation and the Novo Foundation. The Guardian reported that the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation will receive about $4.5 billion in stock, while the other three will receive about $500 million each.

Buffett also said he wants all of his remaining Berkshire Hathaway shares, worth more than $140 billion, donated by the end of 2034. He had previously planned for his three children to distribute his remaining fortune within 10 years of his death.

“Of course, mortality is unpredictable, but my remaining shares will be donated to the four foundations one way or the other by December 31, 2034,” Buffett said. “The goal is to have the grants grow annually to each of the three foundations managed by each of my children and the annual grant to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation grow at a somewhat greater rate.”

Buffett had “irrevocably” committed in 2006 to donate Berkshire shares each year to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as it was then known, “throughout my lifetime,” the BBC reported. He said at the time that he “greatly” admired the foundation’s work.

The decision follows renewed attention on Gates’ relationship with Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Gates has denied any ties to Epstein’s crimes and has not been accused of wrongdoing. He has said he met Epstein because he believed Epstein could help raise money for charitable causes.

In testimony before the U.S. House Oversight Committee in June, Gates said he was introduced to Epstein in 2011 on the premise that Epstein could raise billions of dollars for global health, a key focus of the foundation. “I recall being aware that Epstein had faced prior legal issues, but I did not fully understand the extent of the crimes he committed,” Gates said.

Gates also told the committee: “I should never have met with Epstein in the first place. Based on what I know now, I understand that even if he had delivered the donors he promised, it would not have justified associating with him.”

Epstein had pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution and procuring a person under 18 for prostitution. The Guardian reported that the Justice Department files include email correspondence between Gates and Epstein about philanthropic projects, calendar entries documenting meetings and photos of Gates at events the two men attended.

Buffett told CNBC in March that he had not spoken to Gates “since the whole thing was unveiled.” He added: “I don’t want to be in a position where I know things… to be called as a witness.”

Buffett and Gates were once close friends, and Gates served for years on Berkshire Hathaway’s board. Buffett also sat on the Gates Foundation board. In 2010, Buffett, Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates created the Giving Pledge, a campaign encouraging billionaires to give away most of their wealth during their lifetimes or in their wills.

Bill and Melinda Gates divorced in 2021. Melinda French Gates resigned in 2024 from the foundation she co-founded and said she would donate $1 billion to support women’s rights in the United States.