Buffett redirects Berkshire billions away from Gates Foundation
Warren Buffett is diverting his remaining Berkshire Hathaway shares to family-led foundations over the next eight years, cutting off a major funding pipeline for the Gates Foundation following Bill Gates' testimony about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Warren Buffett will no longer donate his Berkshire Hathaway shares to the Gates Foundation, ending an 18-year commitment that channelled billions of dollars into the world's largest private philanthropy. The 95-year-old investor will instead distribute his remaining stock to four foundations run by his family members.
Buffett set a firm deadline to offload his entire stake by December 31, 2034. "Of course, mortality is unpredictable," Buffett said. "But my remaining shares will be donated to the four foundations one way or the other by 31 December, 2034."
The timing aligns with the fallout from Bill Gates' association with Jeffrey Epstein. While Buffett did not name Gates or Epstein in his donation statement, he told CNBC in March that he had not spoken to Gates "since the whole thing was unveiled." He explicitly cited legal caution, stating: "I don't want to be in a position where I know things... to be called as a witness."
The US Department of Justice released files detailing Gates' links to Epstein in January. Epstein died in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, having previously pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution. In June, Gates testified before the US House Oversight Committee, admitting he met Epstein in 2011 hoping to secure billions for global health initiatives. "I should never have met with Epstein in the first place," Gates said. "Based on what I know now, I understand that even if he had delivered the donors he promised, it would not have justified associating with him."
For the Gates Foundation, the loss of Buffett's annual Berkshire stock transfers removes a guaranteed, long-term capital injection that has scaled its global operations. In 2006, Buffett praised the foundation and made an "irrevocable" pledge to give yearly "throughout my lifetime." The foundation's future capital structure must now rely solely on its existing endowment and other donors, altering its long-term planning horizon.
The shift also marks the latest fracture in the philanthropy's leadership. Bill and Melinda Gates divorced in 2021, and Melinda French Gates resigned from the foundation in 2024 to direct $1bn toward US women's rights. The Gates Foundation did not immediately comment on Buffett's decision.
