Warren Buffett opens up on Bill Gates’ ties to Epstein
Josh Funk
Updated ,first published
Billionaire Warren Buffett says the Gates Foundation’s decision to cut charitable donations has less to do with Bill Gates’ ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and more to do with his belief that his three children are willing to give away his entire fortune.
Buffett told CNBC that Gates’ relationship with Epstein was “unpleasant,” but the 95-year-old investor suggested that Gates’ actions were not that different from mistakes he himself has made over the years by hiring the wrong person or choosing the wrong friends.
“In the business of electing people, no one person can beat thousands of people,” Buffett told CNBC.
Buffett read about Gates’ ties to Epstein
Buffett said he had “read a lot about what happened to Bill and Epstein since January 1st, and I’ve read his statements under oath to Congress and his cross-examination.” He stated that Gates eventually ended his relationship with Epstein.
Buffett said he was not surprised by Gates’ decision, announced on Tuesday, to donate the remainder of his $140 billion ($200 billion) Berkshire Hathaway stake to foundations linked to his family and their three children, Howard, Susie and Peter. Gates flew to Omaha a few weeks ago and spent a few hours talking with Buffett. The two had not spoken much since additional details about Gates and Epstein began to emerge when the federal government began releasing files from the Epstein investigation.
Previously, the plan was for his three children to distribute the remaining wealth within 10 years of Buffett’s death.
“Of course, mortality is unpredictable, but my remaining shares will be donated, one way or another, to four foundations by December 31, 2034,” Buffett said Tuesday. “The goal is to have the annual giving to each of the three foundations run by each of my children increase annually, and the annual giving to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation will also increase by a slightly larger percentage.”
In a statement, the Gates Foundation thanked Buffett for his gifts and said the foundation remained in a strong financial position thanks to Gates’ promise to donate 99 percent of his remaining wealth to the charity, which plans to close in 2045 after distributing the money.
“The Gates Foundation is grateful to Warren Buffett for his decades of support of our work. His donations, totaling more than $47 billion, have helped us expand and fulfill the foundation’s mission to improve health and opportunity for people around the world,” the charity said in a statement.
Buffett’s latest gifts roughly equal last year’s donations
The bulk of Buffett’s philanthropic donations, more than $61 billion, have gone to the Gates Foundation since he announced plans to donate his fortune in 2006. He regularly gives blocks of Berkshire Hathaway shares to the Gates Foundation and four foundations run by his three children.
This year, Buffett plans to give about $4.5 billion in stock to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and about $500 million to the Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation and Novo Foundation, which are run by his children.
So the total amount of announced donations is similar to the roughly US$6 billion donation he made last summer; Buffett’s family foundations received significantly more money than in previous years; This appears to cover the money going to the Gates Foundation.
Gates denies any connection to Epstein’s crimes
Gates denies any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and has not been charged with any crimes. He said he only met with Epstein because he thought he could help him raise money for charitable causes.
Epstein, who was accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls, was found dead in a Manhattan federal lockup in August 2019, and New York City’s medical examiner later ruled his death a suicide.
Buffett has already said he plans to cut donations to the Gates Foundation after his death in 2024 and let his three children decide how to distribute the rest of his fortune. The decision he announced will accelerate this plan.
The two billionaires were best friends
Buffett and Gates used to be extremely close friends who talked frequently, played bridge online, and even went on vacation together. Gates also served on the board of Buffett’s conglomerate for years, and the legendary investor sits on the board of directors of the Gates Foundation. But Buffett told CNBC in March that he hadn’t spoken to Gates in months, since the Epstein files were released in 2025.
In the past, Buffett has sided with Gates. Three years ago, Buffett interrupted a man presenting a resolution at a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting after he questioned Gates’ character because of his ties to Epstein. Peter Flaherty was arrested for trespassing that day, even though he had been given prior permission to give the presentation. The charge was later dropped, but the incident sparked a case that is still ongoing in the courts.
Buffett can’t believe how many people Epstein fooled
“It’s amazing to me how successful anyone can be as a hustler,” Buffett told CNBC in March, but Epstein found a way to exploit the weaknesses of others. Buffett did not discuss Gates’ involvement but said he did not want to be involved in anything that might be investigated later.
Gates recently discussed his ties to Epstein with employees of his foundation. Gates appears multiple times in documents released by the Justice Department regarding its investigation of the late financier. The Justice Department’s files include email correspondence between Gates and Epstein about philanthropic projects, calendar entries documenting the dates they met, and photos of Gates at events attended by the two men.
The foundation announced in March that it had hired someone to review its policies to assess the foundation’s past dealings with Epstein and examine future philanthropic partnerships. Gates and the rest of the foundation’s board expect to receive an update on this investigation this summer.
Buffett told CNBC in March that he was surprised that so many rich and powerful people were implicated in the Epstein scandal.
“I mean, here was a convicted man, a sensational con artist, and the percentage of people he knocked out,” Buffett said. “So, even so, he found their weak points. It could have been sex. It could have been strength, it could have been whatever it was. And I don’t see how anyone could pull that off.”
Buffett said he was glad Epstein never came to Omaha, where he lived for more than six decades. Considered by many to be the world’s greatest investor, Buffett built Berkshire over the years by acquiring insurance companies like Geico, major utilities, manufacturers and well-known brands like Dairy Queen and BNSF railroads.
Buffett’s donations could impact successor’s support
The increasing pace of Buffett’s plan to distribute his fortune over the next eight years, rather than within 10 years of his death, will mean that his successor at Berkshire Hathaway, Greg Abel, will not be able to rely on the support of the Buffett family as the company’s largest shareholder for as long as he considers it.
Still, Buffett said he believes it’s clear that Abel is the right man to lead the conglomerate he founded, and “it’s becoming more and more obvious by the day.”
However, Buffett stated that Berkshire’s large investment in Google’s parent company, whose value increased significantly last year, was not an investment chosen by Abel, but rather an investment that he initiated, but Abel agreed with this. Just last month, Berkshire agreed to invest another $10 billion in Alphabet after tripling its stake in the company.
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