On Tuesday, Warren Buffett omitted the Gates Foundation from his annual stock donation plan. The chairman of Berkshire Hathaway donated shares worth nearly $6 billion to four charitable organizations connected to his family.
Buffett, who will turn 96 this August, also confirmed that his remaining holdings in Berkshire Hathaway will be entirely donated to these four family foundations within the next eight years.
The decision to stop donations to the Gates Foundation follows a series of revelations. After the release of U.S. Department of Justice documents related to the investigation into the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, details about Bill Gates's interactions with Epstein have surfaced.
In March of this year, Buffett stated publicly that he had not been in contact with Bill Gates since the Epstein scandal fully broke. He also said he did not wish to be subpoenaed to testify in the ongoing investigation into the deceased sex offender.
Mark Suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation, told staff in February that it was "deeply unsettling and distressing, and should never have happened" that foundation staff had worked on a fundraising effort for Epstein that ultimately did not proceed, leading to the association.
Buffett has donated over $40 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the past, including a significant donation last year. However, as early as 2024, he signaled that his remaining wealth after his death would be managed by his family's foundations.
This Tuesday, Buffett donated over $4 billion to the Omaha-based foundation named after his late wife, and an additional $500 million in total to three foundations established by his three children.
In a statement, Buffett said, "My goal is to dispose of all my Berkshire Hathaway shares in about eight years. My children are getting older, and I sincerely hope the three of them can complete the work of donating and disposing of all the shares by December 31, 2034."
The Gates Foundation has not yet responded to media requests for comment on the matter.