Warren Buffett on Tuesday said that he is donating nearly $6 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock, consisting of 12 million Class B shares, in his annual mid-year donation to four family foundations overseen by his daughter Susie and sons Howard and Peter. His announcement did not mention Gates Foundation, which has received more than $47 billion of the Berkshire stock since Buffett said in a 2006 letter he was “irrevocably committing” to donate shares throughout his life.
“Of course, mortality is unpredictable, but my remaining shares will be donated to the four foundations one way or the other by December 31, 2034,” 95-year-old Buffett said in a statement on Tuesday. The ‘Oracle of Omaha’ is currently the ninth richest person in the world with a net worth of $149 billion, according to Forbes. Bill Gates meanwhile holds the 19th spot with a net worth of $108 billion.
Also read: Warren Buffett plans to donate entire Berkshire Hathaway stake by 2034
Warren Buffett’s long friendship with Bill Gates
While investor speculation remains heightened, there is no confirmation from either side that there is any bad blood between the two. Warren Buffett first met Bill Gates in the summer of 1991 and their friendship hit off immediately.
Gates would often fly to Omaha on his private jet just to spend a few hours with his friend Buffett, who would sometimes drive to the airport to pick him up. In 2004, Gates joined the board of directors of Buffett’s giant conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway,
The two billionaires were often seen together at shareholder meetings and other places, sometimes while playing ping-pong game or driving around in a golf cart. One such story is especially popular. Billionaire Warren Buffett once famously treated fellow billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates not at a fancy restaurant, but at his favourite McDonald’s — and that too using coupons.
In Bill and Melinda Gates’ 2017 annual letter addressed to their longtime friend Buffett, Gates shared a story about a lunch they had years ago. “Remember the laugh we had when we traveled together to Hong Kong and decided to get lunch at McDonald’s? You offered to pay, dug into your pocket, and pulled out… coupons! Melinda just found this photo of me and ‘the big spender.’ It reminded us how much you value a good deal,” he wrote.
Bill Gates and his alleged links to Jeffrey Epstein
Investors speculated whether Buffett’s latest decision to skip donations to Bill Gates’ foundation came after revelations about interactions between the Microsoft Cofounder and late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Also read: Buffett’s $6 billion annual gifts skip Gates foundation after Epstein ties disclosed
The US Department of Justice released some files about Epstein in February, which included pictures showing Gates posing with the financier and with women whose faces were redacted. Epstein died in a jail in August 2019, one month after being arrested on sex trafficking charges. New York City’s medical examiner called the death a suicide.
Gates has not yet been accused of crimes. Last month, he told Congress that he was introduced to Epstein in 2011, three years after Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to soliciting a minor for prostitution, and four years after Epstein reached a controversial non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors.
Gates has repeatedly expressed regret for having anything to do with Epstein, has denied spending time with victims of Epstein’s sexual abuse, and has said he never witnessed criminal conduct by Epstein.
How cracks began to show in Buffett-Gates friendship
While Warren Buffett and Bill Gates have not publicly spoken ill about each other, people were quick to notice some distance building between the friends since the latter got involved in the infamous Epstein saga. Speaking to CNBC few years back, Buffett said it is astounding to me that anybody could be that successful as a con person” but Epstein found a way to exploit the weaknesses of others.
“I mean, it, here you had a guy that was a convicted guy, a sensational con man, and the percentage of people that he knocked off. I mean, whether it was, he found their weakness. It might have been sex. It might be power, it might be, whatever it might be. And I don’t see how anybody could have pulled that off,” he said, without once mentioning Gates.
Warren Buffett’s latest decision comes after The Wall Street Journal reported last month that he was awaiting law firm WilmerHale’s review of the Gates Foundation’s ties with Epstein before deciding whether to continue his donations.
Bill Gates stepped down from Berkshire’s board of directors in 2020 after 16 years. Warren Buffett meanwhile stepped down as a Gates Foundation trustee in 2021, soon after Bill and Melinda French Gates announced divorce plans, and in 2024 he said his donations would end once he passes away.
Also read: What is Warren Buffett’s best investment ever? It is not a stock
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