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Warren Buffett excluded the Gates Foundation from his nearly $6 billion annual Berkshire Hathaway stock donation for the first time in 20 years, as Epstein-related scrutiny deepens around Bill Gates.
- Buffett directed roughly $6 billion in BRK-B Class B shares to four family foundations on July 14, omitting the Gates Foundation for the first time since 2006.
- The Gates Foundation Epstein review, commissioned from law firm WilmerHale, is examining the foundation's historical ties to the late sex offender; Buffett is awaiting its outcome.
- Buffett said in March he had not spoken with Bill Gates since Epstein disclosures emerged, and in 2006 he made what he called an irrevocable lifetime pledge to donate annually to the foundation.
Lead
Warren Buffett broke a 20-year philanthropic commitment on July 14, 2026, excluding the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation from his annual charitable distribution of Berkshire Hathaway stock for the first time since 2006. The 95-year-old chairman directed nine million Class B shares — worth approximately $5.4 billion at current prices — to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, and one million shares each to the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation, three vehicles tied to his children. The Gates Foundation received nothing. Since his original pledge, Buffett has transferred more than $47 billion in Berkshire stock to the foundation.
What Happened
The exclusion follows a Wall Street Journal report in late June disclosing that Buffett had paused his customary Buffett donation to the Gates Foundation while awaiting the conclusion of an independent review the foundation commissioned from law firm WilmerHale. That review, launched in March 2026, examines the foundation's historical engagement with Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender.
In a March interview with CNBC, Buffett said he had not spoken with Gates "at all since the whole thing was unveiled." Asked whether the two remained close, Buffett said they had shared "great times together" before adding: "Until it gets cleared up, I just don't think it makes sense to do a lot of talking."
Buffett's 2006 letter to Bill and Melinda Gates described his commitment as "irrevocably committing" to annual gifts "throughout my lifetime," contingent on at least one of them remaining actively involved in the organization.
The Epstein Dimension
The Gates Foundation Epstein controversy escalated through the first half of 2026. Department of Justice files released earlier this year showed Epstein spent years cultivating intermediaries to gain access to Gates, including Boris Nikolic, Gates' former chief science adviser; Melanie Walker, a former Gates Foundation senior adviser; and Mila Antonova, described in the files as a former mistress of Gates.
In June 2026, Gates testified before the House Oversight Committee, stating: "I should have never met with Epstein in the first place." Gates said he first met Epstein in 2011 during an effort to raise philanthropic capital for the foundation's global health programs — a solicitation that never produced any donations. Gates told lawmakers he "never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct," but disclosed that Epstein later attempted to use information about an extramarital affair as leverage against him.
Strategic Context
The WilmerHale review was expected to deliver an update during summer 2026, and the Gates Foundation said it was fully cooperating. The omission of the foundation from Buffett's annual Berkshire Hathaway stock gift does not represent a formal termination of the pledge, but the practical financial gap for the foundation — which distributed approximately $8.4 billion globally in 2024 — is immediate.
BRK-B Class B shares have not shown a material market reaction to the philanthropic development, consistent with prior years when Buffett's annual donation announcements are treated as capital-neutral events by investors; the gifted shares were already factored into Berkshire's ownership structure.Outlook
The WilmerHale review's findings will likely determine whether the Buffett donation stop extends into 2027 or whether a structured resumption is negotiated under new conditions. The Gates Foundation's ability to sustain its global health and poverty-alleviation programs in the interim depends on its existing endowment and commitments from other major donors. Buffett has made no public statement characterizing his decision as permanent, and the four family foundations that received this year's allocation have no announced plans to redirect funds toward the Gates Foundation's programmatic areas. The 20-year partnership, worth more than $47 billion in transferred wealth, now hinges on the outcome of a legal review whose timeline remains undefined.
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