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NEW YORK: Warren Buffett has stopped donating money to the Gates Foundation, ending a two-decade philanthropic partnership following revelations about interactions between the Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Buffett said on Tuesday he is donating about $6 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock, comprising 12 million Class B shares, in his annual mid-year donation to four family foundations overseen by his daughter Susie and sons Howard and Peter.
The announcement by the 95-year-old Berkshire chairman did not mention the Gates Foundation, which has received more than $47 billion of the conglomerate’s stock since Buffett in 2006 made what he called an irrevocable pledge to donate shares throughout his lifetime. Buffett’s donation was more than $4.5 billion last year. “Of course, mortality is unpredictable, but my remaining shares will be donated to the four foundations one way or the other by December 31, 2034,” Buffett said in a statement.
Buffett has said that after his death, his children would oversee a charitable trust containing about 99.5pc of his remaining wealth.
Gates regrets Epstein ties
Bill Gates has seen his reputation tarnished following the US Department of Justice’s release of files about Epstein in February. These included photos of Gates posing with the financier, and with women whose faces were redacted. Emails also showed communications between Epstein and the foundation’s staff.
Last month, Gates told Congress he was introduced to Epstein in 2011, three years after Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to soliciting a minor for prostitution, and four years after Epstein reached a controversial non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors. Gates said several subsequent meetings with Epstein focused on possible philanthropy but proved fruitless, and the relationship ended by December 2014.
He said he later discovered that Epstein learned of his marital infidelity, and Epstein tried using that knowledge to unsuccessfully blackmail him into reengaging. Gates, 70, has not been accused of crimes. He has repeatedly expressed regret for having anything to do with Epstein, has denied spending time with victims of Epstein’s sexual abuse, and has said he never witnessed criminal conduct by Epstein.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Buffett was awaiting the law firm WilmerHale’s review of the Gates Foundation’s ties with Epstein before deciding whether to continue his donations.
Donation to family charities
Buffett has donated well over half his Berkshire stock since he began giving away his fortune in 2006. He owned close to 14pc of Berkshire’s stock before the latest donations, and was worth $147 billion according to Forbes magazine. Buffett is donating 9 million Class B shares of Berkshire to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation; and 1 million shares to each of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation and NoVo Foundation.
He plans for the grants to increase annually, and for grants to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation to grow somewhat faster. 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.
Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2026
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