Buffett ends donations to Gates Foundation

Warren Buffett has ended his donations to the Gates Foundation after nearly two decades, according to reports, marking the first time the charity has been excluded from the recipients of his annual philanthropy. The decision follows revelations about Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates' ties to financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which reportedly strained the longtime friendship between the two billionaires.

CNN reported Tuesday that the Gates Foundation was absent from the list of organizations receiving Buffett's latest charitable gifts, which Berkshire Hathaway announced the same day. Buffett said he donated 12 million Berkshire Hathaway shares, worth about $6 billion, to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named after his late first wife, and to foundations run by his three children. In a separate statement, he said all of his remaining Berkshire Hathaway shares would be donated to those four foundations by Dec. 31, 2034, adding that he expects to complete the process within the next eight years.

Buffett joined the Gates Foundation's board in 2006 and donated Berkshire shares worth billions of dollars every year. He continued those gifts even after leaving the board in 2021. His donations to the foundation totaled about $48 billion through last year.

The friendship between the two billionaires began to unravel after Gates' ties to Epstein came to light. Records released by the U.S. Department of Justice in January showed Gates remained in contact with Epstein beginning in 2011, after the financier had already been convicted. Gates said last month that Epstein had tried to blackmail him over an extramarital affair.

Buffett said in a March interview with CNBC that he no longer speaks with Gates following the release of the Epstein files. The Wall Street Journal also reported that a Gates Foundation official was notified in May that they would not be seated with business leaders at Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholders meeting.


김보라 기자 purple@donga.com