Warren Buffett removes Gates Foundation from annual donation via Epstein link.
Warren Buffett, in a major decision, has stopped making donations to the Gates Foundation due to Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’ ties to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Buffett was a founding trustee of the Gates Foundation, and started the Giving Pledge with Bill Gates and his then-wife Melinda French-Gates to encourage billionaires to give away a significant portion of their wealth.
Buffett resigned from the foundation’s board of directors in 2021, but continued to donate billions annually to the charity. But this year, he overlooked the Gates Foundation while waiting to see the outcome of a review by outside lawyers hired by the charity looking into ties between the foundation and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the Wall Street Journal reported.“Of course, the mortality rate is unpredictable,” Buffett said. “But my remaining shares will be donated to the four institutions in one way or another by December 31, 2034.”Berkshire Hathaway is worth $1.1 trillion, and Buffett owns about 30% of its shares. Many of Buffett’s donations in recent years were directed to the Gates Foundation. In 2022, the Gates Foundation said Buffett’s donations to that point amounted to $36 billion, and he continued to contribute billions of dollars worth of Berkshire stock each year until this year.
“I no longer talk to Gates.”
The revelation of a close relationship between Bill Gates and Epstein has strained relations between Gates and Buffett.
Buffett told CNBC earlier this year that he no longer speaks with Gates, although Buffett has said he does not regret his past donations.“I hope certain things don’t happen,” Buffett said in the March interview. But “it’s not like they’re stealing money for themselves.”Gates testified before a House committee last month that he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. Earlier, he reportedly apologized to foundation staff for his ties to Epstein, calling his relationship with Epstein a “huge mistake,” but strongly denied any allegations of personal wrongdoing.
