Warren Buffett says he hasn’t talked to Bill Gates
Warren Buffett said Tuesday that he had not spoken to him. Microsoft founder Bill Gates: “Since everything about the Jeffrey Epstein files came out.”
“I haven’t talked to him at all since everything was announced,” Buffett told CNBC’s Becky Quick on “Squawk Box.”
“I don’t want to be in a position where I know things and be called as a witness,” he added.
Gates befriended Epstein in 2011, three years after Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida state court to soliciting an underage girl for prostitution. Emails and photos detailing Gates and Epstein’s friendship appeared in documents released by the Justice Department and Congress since late 2025.
In February, Gates apologized to Gates Foundation employees for his relationship with Epstein and admitted that he had affairs with two Russian women that Epstein learned: Wall StreetJournal has been reported previously. According to the newspaper, Gates said at the same event, “I didn’t do anything illegal. I didn’t see anything illegal.”
When asked Tuesday whether he was still good friends with Gates, Buffett spoke fondly of Gates’ personal relationships, including one with his ex-wife Melinda Gates: Giving CommitmentAn effort to collect pledges from the world’s richest people to devote more of their wealth to philanthropy
But Buffett, referring to the scandal surrounding Epstein and Gates, added: “I think there’s no point in talking too much until this situation is clarified.
“I don’t want to be sworn in,” Buffett said in his first public comments about Gates since the release of the Epstein files.
Buffett has spoken at length about notorious sex offender Epstein, whose friendships with Gates and other high-profile figures have had damaging consequences for them, as details of their relationships have emerged in recent months with the release of the so-called Epstein files.
“It’s amazing to me how successful someone can be as a hustler,” Buffett said.
“Men will like sex… and some will like not paying taxes, and he understood their weaknesses,” Buffett said.
“This guy must be the hustler of all time,” Buffett said. “He had a way of fooling everyone.”
He said Gates could have invited him to New York to meet Epstein, but luckily he didn’t.
“I made sure to thank him for not doing that,” Buffett said.
“But you can’t escape what happens.”
In early March, Gates accepted an invitation from the House Oversight Committee to testify about his dealings with Epstein. This appearance has not been planned yet.
A spokesman for Gates said in a statement that he “welcomed the opportunity to appear before the Committee.”
“Although he did not witness or participate in any illegal conduct by Epstein, he looks forward to answering all of the committee’s questions in support of its important work,” the spokesperson said.
