Buffett Halts Gates Foundation Donations After 20 Years... Scrutiny Over Epstein Ties
Warren Buffett, Chairman of the Board at Berkshire Hathaway (hereafter Berkshire), has halted his annual donations to the Gates Foundation, which was established by Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft (MS). This decision is believed to be a response to growing scrutiny over the relationship between Gates and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
On July 14 (local time), Berkshire announced that Buffett will donate 9 million shares of Berkshire Class B stock to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named after his late first wife. In addition, 1 million shares each will be given to the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the Novo Foundation, which are respectively led by his children Susie, Howard, and Peter.
Buffett stated, "My goal is to fully dispose of my Berkshire shares within the next eight years." He further explained, "In one way or another, any remaining shares I hold will be donated to these four foundations by December 31, 2034."
However, the Gates Foundation, which had received donations for the past 20 years, was omitted from the list of recipients. From 2006 through last year, Buffett donated a total of approximately $48 billion to the Gates Foundation. At one time, Buffett was a trustee of the foundation, maintaining a close relationship with Gates.
The decision is seen as a result of a rift brought on by revelations that Gates engaged in multiple meetings and interactions with Epstein. According to the "Epstein Files," incident documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice, Gates met with Epstein several times even after Epstein had served time for sex crimes. Gates explained the meetings as discussions about raising funds for philanthropic projects, but admitted that associating with Epstein was "a huge mistake."
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After these facts became public, Buffett distanced himself from Gates. In a CNBC interview this past March, he said, "I have had no conversations with Gates at all since everything came out," adding, "Until the allegations are resolved, I don’t think it’s appropriate to have extensive discussions."
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