Buffett says decision to stop Gates Foundation donations not a surprise

Warren Buffett said it was not a surprise when he told ​Bill Gates about his decision to ‌stop donating to the Gates Foundation, ending ​their two-decade philanthropic partnership. Mr. Buffett, 95, did ⁠not include the Gates Foundation in a nearly $6 billion donation of Berkshire Hathaway stock announced on ‌Tuesday (July 14, 2026), following revelations about interactions between Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder ‌and philanthropist, and the late sex ‌offender ⁠Jeffrey Epstein.

In interview excerpts broadcast ⁠on CNBC on Wednesday (July 15, 2026), Mr. Buffett, who is Berkshire’s chairman, said the billionaires spoke three weeks ago when ​Mr. Gates visited Omaha.

The ‌meeting followed the U.S. Department of Justice’s release in February of files about Gates’ relationship with Epstein. Congress has also investigated ‌the matter, and Mr. Gates met ​with that body last month. Mr. Gates has repeatedly expressed regret for having ⁠anything to do with Epstein, and not been accused of crimes.

“I reevaluated my whole ‌situation,” Mr. Buffett said. “It did not come as a surprise.”

He added: “I had read what Congress came up with. I’d read everything.”

He will instead continue donating Berkshire shares to four family foundations run by ‌his children Susie, Howard and Peter, including the ​nearly $6 billion donation.

Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in August ⁠2019, following his arrest on sex trafficking charges. ⁠New York City’s medical examiner called the death a suicide.

Mr. Buffett had ‌donated more than $47 billion of Berkshire stock to the Gates Foundation since ​2006.

Buffett says Gates ‘made mistakes’

Mr. Buffett said Mr. Gates, a longtime friend who was also a Berkshire director for 16 ‌years, visited him in Omaha three weeks ago.

“While it’s distasteful, while ‌he made mistakes, I made mistakes in hiring all kinds of people, or choosing friends, and then finding out later that one way or other they weren’t what I thought,” Mr. Buffett said.

He nonetheless called donating to the Gates Foundation a “good decision” and expressed no regrets for his relationship with Bill Gates. We have had enormous number of good times together,” Mr. Buffett said. “It has been a wonderful friendship.”

‘Keeping your marbles’

In Tuesday’s announcement, Mr. Buffett also accelerated the timetable to distribute ⁠his remaining Berkshire shares, which represent an approximately 13% stake in the $1.06 trillion conglomerate.

Mr. Buffett now ⁠wants the shares distributed by the end of 2034, rather than 10 years after his death. He noted his children’s advancing ages. Susie Buffett, ‌the oldest, will be 81 by the end of 2034.

“I reevaluated my whole situation,” Mr. Buffett said on CNBC. “It’s not just a question of ​mortality. It’s a question of keeping your marbles.”