Buffett Halts Support for Gates Foundation for First Time in Years — Amid Epstein Ties Review

Warren Buffett has broken with years of tradition by not making his usual donation to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, instead distributing nearly $6 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway shares among four foundations tied to his own family. The move follows an external legal review into the Gates Foundation's ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the legendary investor decided to wait for the results of the investigation before making any further donations. At the same time, 95-year-old Buffett stressed that he is not abandoning his broader philanthropic strategy: he said he hopes his three children will distribute all of his Berkshire Hathaway shares by December 31, 2034.

The Epstein affair has also affected Buffett's personal relationship with Bill Gates. In an interview with CNBC, the investor said the two no longer speak, though he does not regret his past donations to the foundation. "I wish some things hadn't happened," he said in a March interview. "But that doesn't mean the money was stolen for personal use."

Buffett emphasized that he never personally met or had contact with Epstein, and that he hasn't discussed the whole affair with Gates. "We had wonderful times together," he admitted. "But until all this is cleared up, I don't see much point in talking a lot." One reason, he said, is concern he could be called as a witness: "I don't want to give testimony under oath."

Buffett was one of the founding trustees of the Gates Foundation and, together with Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, launched The Giving Pledge, an initiative urging billionaires to donate the bulk of their fortunes to charity. He stepped down from the foundation's board in 2021, but continued to donate billions of dollars' worth of Berkshire Hathaway shares to it every year until this year — totaling, according to the foundation, up to $36 billion by 2022.

Today, Berkshire Hathaway's market capitalization stands at around $1.1 trillion, with Buffett himself owning roughly 30% of its shares. Gates, for his part, testified before a U.S. House committee last month, saying he knew nothing about Epstein's crimes and calling his contact with him "a huge mistake."