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Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has excluded the Gates Foundation from his annual midyear charitable donations for the first time since 2006, thus redirecting nearly $6 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway shares to four philanthropic organisations run by his children.
Buffett, who was a founding trustee of the Gates Foundation, started “The Giving Pledge” with Bill Gates and his then-wife, Melinda French Gates, to encourage billionaires to donate a considerable portion of their wealth.
Buffett resigned from the Foundation’s board in 2021, but has continued to donate billions annually to the charity.
What Buffet is saying
In a statement released on Tuesday, Buffett announced he would donate 9 million Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares, valued at approximately $4.4 billion, to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation.
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- He also allocated 1 million Class B shares, worth about $496 million each, to the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the Novo Foundation, bringing the total value of the donations to nearly $6 billion.
- The announcement comes weeks after reports emerged that Buffett was reconsidering future donations to the Gates Foundation.
The Wall Street Journal reported in June that the Berkshire Hathaway chairman had postponed a decision on further gifts while awaiting the outcome of an independent review into the foundation’s links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
According to the report, Buffett had been in discussions with the foundation’s leadership and intended to revisit the issue later in the year. Tuesday’s donation announcement, however, omitted the Gates Foundation entirely.
Buffett, who is 95 years old, also used the announcement to reaffirm his commitment to philanthropy, outlining a timeline for distributing the remainder of his fortune.
- “My goal is to dispose of all of my Berkshire shares within about eight years,” Buffett said, adding that all of his remaining holdings “will be donated to the four foundations one way or the other by December 31, 2034.”
More insight
The latest donation follows Buffett’s record charitable gift of about $6 billion in 2025, when the Gates Foundation remained one of the beneficiaries.
- Forbes estimates Buffett’s net worth at approximately $147 billion, making him the world’s 10th-richest person. Widely regarded as one of history’s most successful investors, Buffett has repeatedly pledged to donate more than 99% of his wealth.
His philanthropic relationship with Gates dates back to 2006, when he began making annual donations to the Gates Foundation. Four years later, Buffett joined Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates to launch The Giving Pledge, an initiative encouraging billionaires to commit the majority of their wealth to charitable causes.
What you should know
The Gates Foundation has faced increased scrutiny in recent months over historical connections between Bill Gates and Jeffrey Epstein. Gates has previously acknowledged that meeting Epstein was a mistake and has apologised for the association, which has continued to attract public attention.
The controversy intensified after reports that emails showed Epstein had communicated with Gates Foundation staff, prompting the organisation to commission an external review into the matter earlier this year. The foundation has said it expects findings from the review during the summer.
- Melinda French Gates, who co-chaired the organisation for more than two decades, stepped down from the foundation in 2024, leaving Bill Gates as its sole chair.
Buffett stepped down as Chief Executive Officer of Berkshire Hathaway after 2025 but remains chairman of the conglomerate.
