Warren Buffett Halts Gates Foundation Donations After Two Decades

Warren Buffett has ended his philanthropic partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a relationship that began in 2006. The decision comes after reports about Bill Gates's ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who died in 2019 while facing sex trafficking charges.

Buffett redirected nearly $6 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock to four charities run by his family. The billionaire investor, who turns 94 this year, said he plans to give away all of his remaining Berkshire shares by the end of 2034.

The move marks a significant shift for Buffett, who had pledged to give the bulk of his fortune to the Gates Foundation. Over the past two decades, he donated more than $27 billion to the foundation, which focuses on global health, poverty, and education.

In a statement, Buffett said he was proud of the foundation's work but chose to support his family's charitable efforts going forward. The four recipient charities include the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation.

Buffett's decision follows revelations that Bill Gates met with Epstein several times after Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor. Gates has said he regrets those meetings and that they were for philanthropic purposes.