Warren Buffett has funneled roughly $48 billion into the Gates Foundation from 2006 to 2025, typically through annual midyear transfers of Berkshire Hathaway shares. However, this year, for the first time in two decades, Buffett is reportedly delaying his usual donation as he waits for the outcome of a review into the foundation's ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a new Wall Street Journal report.
The delay comes as Buffett's relationship with Gates, a longtime friend, has reportedly become strained since the release of Justice Department files related to Epstein.
Buffett said in March that he had not spoken with Gates since the files were released and wanted to see what else emerged before making his annual giving decision.
WSJ noted:
Whatever decision Buffett makes, it isn't expected to affect his annual contributions to his family's foundations, including those run by his three children and the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named after his first wife, according to the people familiar with the matter.
This year, a series of DoJ documents sparked scrutiny of Gates's ties to Epstein. He recently appeared at a congressional hearing and said that his meetings with Epstein were "a grave error in judgment."
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WSJ recently reported that the Gates Foundation slashed 500 jobs, or about 20% of its staff, as the left-wing NGO has come under fire for Gates' ties to Epstein. Back in February, Gates pulled out as a keynote speaker at a high-profile global AI summit in India.
The Gates Foundation CEO recently told employees during a town hall event that the Gates-Epstein relationship had deeply tarnished the nonprofit's reputation, according to a Financial Times report.
But it is not just the Gates-Epstein ties that Buffett should be concerned about. Late last year, the Gates Foundation had to publicly sever ties with philanthropic adviser Arabella Advisors, which engineered a sprawling "dark money" network of nonprofit entities, including the New Venture Fund, Sixteen Thirty Fund, Hopewell Fund, and Windward Fund, that continues to wage color-revolution-style operations against President Trump.
All in all, it is not looking great for the Gates Foundation.