The Berkshire Hathaway chairman is ending donations to the Gates Foundation and directing his remaining company shares to four foundations controlled by his children following scrutiny of Bill Gates’ past association with Jeffrey Epstein.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Warren Buffett has confirmed that he is no longer donating to the Gates Foundation, ending a philanthropic relationship that delivered more than $47 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock to the organization over nearly two decades.
The decision follows renewed scrutiny of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’ interactions with Jeffrey Epstein, the late convicted sex offender whom Gates met while seeking financial support for his charitable work.
Buffett announced Tuesday that he is donating approximately $6 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock to four family foundations overseen by his daughter, Susie Buffett, and his sons, Howard Buffett and Peter Buffett.
The latest contribution consists of 12 million Berkshire Class B shares.
Buffett also said that all of his remaining Berkshire shares will be transferred “one way or the other” to those four family foundations no later than Dec. 31, 2034.
The announcement establishes a new destination for the 95-year-old Berkshire chairman’s remaining fortune while omitting the Gates Foundation, which had long been the principal recipient of his annual stock donations.
Buffett began giving Berkshire shares to charitable organizations in 2006 under what he described as an irrevocable lifetime pledge. Since then, the Gates Foundation has received more than $47 billion worth of Berkshire stock.
His annual donation exceeded $4.5 billion last year.
Tuesday’s announcement marked a significant shift from that previous arrangement. Rather than dividing the latest contribution among the Gates Foundation and Buffett family charities, Buffett directed the full $6 billion to the four organizations managed by his children.
He also made clear that the remainder of his Berkshire holdings will ultimately go to those foundations, setting a final deadline at the end of 2034.
Buffett did not mention the Gates Foundation in his announcement.
The change comes after Gates testified before members of Congress in June about his contacts with Epstein.
Gates said he “did not fully understand the extent” of Epstein’s crimes when he associated with him in an effort to raise money for his philanthropic foundation.
Gates also testified that he never witnessed Epstein engage in criminal conduct.
Epstein had previously been convicted of a sex offense and later faced federal sex-trafficking charges before his death.
The controversy surrounding Gates’ meetings with Epstein has continued to follow the billionaire philanthropist, raising questions about why the relationship continued after Epstein’s criminal history was publicly known.
Buffett’s decision does not alter the tens of billions of dollars already transferred to the Gates Foundation, but it ends the prospect of future annual Berkshire contributions under the previous giving structure.
The redistribution also places substantially greater responsibility in the hands of Buffett’s children, whose foundations will oversee both the current $6 billion gift and the future transfer of his remaining company shares.
Buffett has not disclosed precisely how the four foundations will allocate the new contribution or the eventual remainder of his Berkshire holdings.
His statement nevertheless provides a clear timetable for completing the transfer. All remaining shares are expected to be donated by Dec. 31, 2034, whether through annual gifts or another distribution mechanism.
The move represents one of the most consequential changes to Buffett’s philanthropic plans since he launched his large-scale stock donation program in 2006.
For years, his contributions made him one of the Gates Foundation’s most important financial supporters. The organization received the largest portion of his annual giving and used the donations to support global health, development and other initiatives.
That arrangement will no longer continue.
Buffett’s latest decision redirects his philanthropic legacy toward foundations controlled by his family while closing a chapter in his longstanding partnership with Gates.
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