Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has ended his long-running annual donations to the Bill Gates Foundation, marking the end of nearly 20 years of financial support for one of the world’s largest charitable organisations.
Buffett had “irrevocably” committed in 2006 to donate shares in his company, Berkshire Hathaway, to the then Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation every year “throughout my lifetime.” However, the foundation was notably absent from the list of beneficiaries announced on Tuesday.
Instead, Buffett revealed that billions of dollars worth of Berkshire Hathaway shares will now be distributed among four charitable foundations associated with members of the Buffett family. The 95-year-old billionaire also disclosed that he intends to donate all of his remaining Berkshire Hathaway shares within the next eight years.
“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 decision comes weeks after Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates publicly addressed questions surrounding his past association with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during testimony before the U.S. House Oversight Committee.
Although Buffett did not mention either Gates or Epstein in his statement announcing the change, he previously told CNBC in March 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.”
Over the past two decades, Buffett has donated approximately $47 billion (£35 billion) to the Gates Foundation, making him one of its largest contributors.
Responding to the development, the Gates Foundation expressed appreciation for Buffett’s longstanding generosity.
The organisation said it was “grateful to Warren Buffett for his decades of support for our work.”
It added, “The foundation continues from a position of financial strength to advance our work through 2045, supported by Bill’s $200bn commitment.”
During his congressional testimony in June, Gates explained that he first met Epstein in 2011 after being told the financier could help raise significant funding for global health initiatives, a major 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.
Epstein had pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution and procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution. He later died in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
Reflecting on the relationship, Gates admitted: “I should never have met with Epstein in the first place. 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.”
Buffett first pledged his support to the Gates Foundation in 2006, saying he “greatly” admired its philanthropic work. In 2010, Buffett joined Bill and Melinda Gates to launch The Giving Pledge, an initiative encouraging the world’s wealthiest individuals to donate the majority of their fortunes during their lifetime or through their estates.
Bill and Melinda Gates divorced in 2021 after 27 years of marriage. In 2024, Melinda French Gates stepped down from the foundation she co-founded and announced plans to donate $1 billion to support women’s rights initiatives in the United States.
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