Warren Buffett has ended his nearly 20-year donation partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, bringing to a close a philanthropic relationship that lasted almost two decades. According to reports from ET Now, Buffett instead donated 12 million Class B shares of Berkshire Hathaway stock worth approximately $6 billion to four family-linked foundations rather than including the Gates Foundation in his annual charitable stock gifts. The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation received 9 million shares, while the Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation and NoVo Foundation each received 1 million shares as part of this year's donation. This marks the first time since making his commitment in 2006 that Buffett has excluded the Gates Foundation from his annual donation, ending one of the most significant partnerships in modern philanthropy. The 95-year-old chairman stated his goal is to dispose of all of his Berkshire shares within about eight years, with hopes that his children can carry out the disposal by December 31, 2034. Buffett told CNBC that he's glad Epstein never came to Omaha, where he has lived for more than six decades, expressing amazement at how many wealthy and powerful people have been caught up in the Epstein scandal.
The decision to exclude the Gates Foundation appears to be part of Buffett's strategy to focus entirely on family-related charitable organizations for this particular year. As reported by ET Now, this shift represents a departure from previous years when the Gates Foundation was among the recipients of Buffett's annual stock donations, highlighting the billionaire investor's approach to targeted charitable giving. The exclusion comes after renewed public attention on Bill Gates' past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, with Buffett and Gates having not spoken since earlier this year after the release of additional documents related to Epstein. Buffett told CNBC that he doesn't want to be involved with anything that could be investigated later, stating he's amazed at how many wealthy and powerful people have been caught up in the Epstein scandal. Buffett and Gates used to be exceptionally close friends who talked often, played bridge online and even took vacations together. Gates also served on the board of Buffett's conglomerate for years and the legendary investor sat on the board of the Gates Foundation, with Gates serving as a trustee until 2020.
The omission marks a significant break from Buffett's longstanding commitment to the Gates Foundation, as reported by ET Now. Since 2006, Buffett had donated more than $47 billion worth of Berkshire stock to the philanthropic organization, making this exclusion particularly notable. The Gates Foundation was for years the largest recipient of his annual Berkshire donations, making this exclusion particularly notable. The decision to focus on family-linked foundations suggests Buffett's preference for maintaining direct connections with his charitable giving recipients, representing a fundamental shift from his previous approach to philanthropic giving. Buffett plans to give about $4.5 billion in stock to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation this year and about $500 million in shares each to the Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation and NoVo Foundation, which are run by his children. Buffett currently owns 188,290 Class A shares of Berkshire and 1,162 Class B shares, as reported by The Economic Times. Buffett also said in his statement that he wants all of his remaining Berkshire Hathaway stock worth nearly $146 billion donated to charity by the end of 2034, with the goal of having grants grow annually to each of the three foundations managed by his children and the annual grant to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation grow at a somewhat greater rate.
The exclusion comes amid strained relations between Buffett and the Gates family, as reported by ET Now. In a March interview with CNBC's Becky Quick, Buffett said he had not spoken with Gates 'at all since the whole thing was unveiled' regarding the Epstein controversy. Asked whether the two remained close friends, Buffett said they had shared 'great times together,' but added, 'Until it gets cleared up ... I just don't think it makes sense to do a lot of talking.' Gates has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing and has repeatedly said he regrets meeting Epstein and has stated that the relationship did not lead to any successful philanthropic projects. He has also denied witnessing any criminal conduct and rejected allegations of involvement in Epstein's crimes. Buffett and Gates used to be exceptionally close friends who talked often, played bridge online and even took vacations together. Gates also served on the board of Buffett's conglomerate for years and the legendary investor sat on the board of the Gates Foundation. Buffett already said in 2024 that he planned to cut off donations to the Gates Foundation after his death and let his three children decide how to distribute the rest of his fortune, with the decision announced Tuesday accelerating that plan.
The exclusion relates to disclosures of Bill Gates' ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as reported by ET Now. Gates denies any knowledge of Epstein's crimes and has not been accused of any wrongdoing. He said he only met with Epstein because he thought it might help him raise money for charitable causes. Epstein, who was accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, was found dead at the Manhattan federal lockup in August 2019 and his death was later ruled a suicide by New York City's medical examiner. The foundation announced that it hired someone in March to assess the foundation's past engagement with Epstein and review its policies to vet any future philanthropic partnerships. Gates discussed his ties to Epstein with the staff of his foundation recently and appears multiple times in the Justice Department's release of documents connected to its investigation of the late financier. The files include email correspondence between Gates and Epstein about philanthropic projects, calendar entries documenting dates they got together, and photos of Gates at events the two men attended. Gates and the rest of the foundation's board expect to get an update on that investigation sometime this summer. Buffett told CNBC that he's amazed at how many wealthy and powerful people have been caught up in the Epstein scandal, stating 'I mean, it, here you had a guy that was a convicted guy, a sensational con man, and the percentage of people that he knocked off.'
Berkshire shares have declined 8% through Monday since their historic high in May last year, right before Buffett announced he would leave his role as chief executive officer, as reported by The Economic Times. The S&P 500 gained 32% over the same period. Buffett said last year that he wanted to accelerate charitable giving to the foundations so his children can more easily dispose of his estate upon his death. About a year ago, the Berkshire chairman gave about $320 million worth of shares to each of the three foundations before pledging to give approximately $200 million to each organization later in that year. In 2025, Buffett donated more than $4.5 billion to the Gates Foundation and around $2.8 billion to his family's charitable foundations, as reported by Business Standard. The Gates Foundation commissioned a review of its past interactions with Epstein and intends to examine policies for vetting new philanthropic partnerships, with Buffett awaiting the results of that review before making additional gifts to the foundation. Bill Gates has seen his reputation tarnished following the US Department of Justice's release of files about Epstein in February, which included photos of Gates posing with the financier, and with women whose faces were redacted. The Gates Foundation did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding Buffett's decision. Berkshire did not immediately respond to requests for additional comment on the donation details. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Buffett had been awaiting a review by law firm WilmerHale into the Gates Foundation's historical links to Epstein before deciding whether to continue his donations, though the law firm has not confirmed the review.
