Warren Buffett Redirects 2026 Donations to Family Foundations, Says He Found Nothing Disqualifying in Gates' Epstein Ties

Warren Buffett directed all of his 2026 annual Berkshire donations to four family-linked foundations instead of the Gates Foundation. He called Bill Gates' association with Jeffrey Epstein "distasteful" and said Gates "made mistakes" regarding the relationship. " He has been friends with Gates for more than three decades and spent three hours with him in Omaha three weeks before the interview.

Gates proposed another meeting after that discussion. Since 2006 Buffett has donated more than $47 billion worth of Berkshire stock to the Gates Foundation. This year he is giving the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation 9 million Class B shares valued at around $4.5 billion.

Each of the three foundations run by his children—the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation—will receive 1 million Class B shares worth just under $500 million. Buffett said his goal is to dispose of all his Berkshire shares within about eight years.

He recently underwent surgery after breaking his leg several weeks ago and is recovering well.