Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has stopped giving donations to Bill Gates’ charitable foundation weeks after the Microsoft co-founder detailed his links to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Buffett “irrevocably” committed in 2006 to donate shares in his firm, Berkshire Hathaway, each year to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as it was then known “throughout my lifetime”.
But on Thursday, the Gates Foundation was left off the list of firms that will receive billions of dollars worth of stock.
The stock will instead be split between four foundations involving members of the Buffett family. The 95-year-old said he will dispose of his remaining stock over the next eight years.
“Of course, mortality is unpredictable,” said Buffett. “But my remaining shares will be donated to the four foundations one way or the other by 31 December, 2034.”
Gates’ association with Epstein was revealed when the US Department of Justice released files in January.
Buffett did not mention Gates or Epstein by name in his statement regarding his donations.
But in March, he told CNBC that he had not spoken to Gates “since the whole thing was unveiled”.
He added: “I don’t want to be in a position where I know things… to be called as a witness.”
Buffett has donated $47bn (£35bn) to Gates’ charity over 20 years.
The Gates Foundation told the BBC it was “grateful to Warren Buffett for his decades of support for our work”.
It said: “The foundation continues from a position of financial strength to advance our work through 2045, supported by Bill’s $200bn commitment.”
In June, Gates appeared before the US House Oversight Committee to answer questions about his relationship with Epstein, who died in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
In a transcript of his testimony, Gates said that he had been introduced to Epstein in 2011 on the premise that he could raise billions of dollars for global health – a key focus of the foundation.
“I recall being aware that Epstein had faced prior legal issues, but I did not fully understand the extent of the crimes he committed,” Gates said.
