Warren Buffett Stops Donating to the Gates Foundation Over Epstein Revelations

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Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett, 95, announced his annual charitable stock gifts today, and the Gates Foundation was not among them. For years, the foundation co-founded by Bill and Melinda Gates was the largest recipient of his annual donations, andhe has donated an estimated $48 billion worth of Berkshire stock to the organization since 2006.

According to the Wall Street Journal, “Buffett is skipping his usual midyear donation to the Gates Foundation so the famed investor can wait to see the findings of a review into the foundation’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein, according to people familiar with Buffett’s plans.” Buffett stepped down as a trustee of the organization after Bill and Melinda’s 2021 divorce. In 2024, Melinda resigned from the foundation.

Earlier this year, Buffett told CNBC he had not spoken with Bill “at all since the whole thing was unveiled,” referring to the release of the Epstein files that alleged Epstein set up “illicit trysts” for the Microsoft co-founder. At the time, a spokesperson for Bill called the claims “absolutely absurd and completely false”; Bill has denied any wrongdoing and knowing about Epstein’s illegal activity.

Buffett’s gift today included millions of shares to four family foundations: the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation. “My goal is to dispose of all of my Berkshire shares within about eight years,” Buffett said in a statement announcing the gifts. “As I explained last year, my children are unfortunately growing older. I have every hope that the three of them are able to carry out the disposal of my shares by December 31, 2034.” In 2006, he pledged to give away the entirety of his fortune.

Per Reuters, “Susie Buffett leads the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, which funds reproductive health. It is named for her mother, who was ⁠Warren Buffett’s first wife. The Sherwood Foundation supports Nebraska nonprofits and early childhood education. The Howard G. Buffett Foundation focuses on global hunger, combating human trafficking and mitigating conflicts. The NoVo Foundation has initiatives focused on marginalized girls and women, and on indigenous communities.”

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