Warren Buffett redirects $6 billion in charitable donations away from Gates Foundation

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said he will allocate about $6 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock to four family-run foundations this year, omitting the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation after recent disclosures of the Microsoft co-founder’s interactions with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Buffett’s statement indicated that all of his remaining Berkshire shares, currently valued at more than $140 billion, will be given to charity by the end of 2034, with the bulk of this year’s gifts going to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and the Sherwood, Howard G. Buffett, and Novo foundations, each managed by one of his children.

“Of course, mortality is unpredictable, but my remaining shares will be donated to the four foundations one way or the other by December 31, 2034,” Buffett said.

The move follows Buffett’s earlier plan, announced in 2024, to cease new donations to the Gates Foundation after his death and let his children decide how to distribute the remainder of his fortune. The current allocation, similar in size to the $6 billion he announced last summer, shifts funds that would have gone to the Gates Foundation to his family foundations.

Bill Gates has publicly denied any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and said his meetings with Epstein were intended to explore charitable fundraising opportunities. The Gates Foundation said it hired an external reviewer in March to assess past engagements with Epstein and to strengthen future vetting procedures.

Buffett, who stepped down as Berkshire Hathaway’s chief executive in January but remains chairman, said he wants to avoid any future investigations linked to the Epstein scandal and expressed surprise at the extent of the financier’s connections to wealthy individuals.