Warren Buffett Skips His Annual Gates Foundation Donation for the First Time in Two Decades, Citing Epstein Review

Warren Buffett did not transfer his usual tranche of Berkshire Hathaway shares to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation this June. The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with Buffett's plans, reported the decision Monday. The 95-year-old Berkshire chairman has made this donation every summer since 2006, and this is the first time in that stretch he has skipped it.

The total at stake is not trivial. Last year alone, according to India Today, Buffett's contribution to the foundation was valued at more than $4.5 billion. Over the full run from 2006 through 2025, he has given roughly $48 billion in Berkshire shares to the foundation, according to Live Mint, making it the single largest beneficiary of his fortune.

What Buffett Is Waiting On

The Gates Foundation has retained law firm WilmerHale to conduct a review of its ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to Live Mint. The review's findings are expected this summer. Buffett and people close to him have been in contact with foundation CEO Mark Suzman to understand both the scope of the Epstein connection and where the review stands, the Journal's sources said.

Buffett is expected to make a final call later in the year, possibly in his annual Thanksgiving letter, multiple sources told the Journal.

The Epstein-Gates Timeline That Triggered This

Bill Gates and Epstein developed a working relationship beginning in 2011, three years after Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida state court to soliciting a minor for prostitution. Emails and photos documenting that relationship have been released by the Department of Justice and Congress since late 2025, according to CNBC.

On June 10, Gates testified before the House Oversight Committee. He called meeting with Epstein a "grave error in judgment," denied witnessing or participating in any criminal activity, and said he did not learn Epstein was a registered sex offender until 2018, when Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown published her investigation into Epstein's 2008 plea deal, according to CNBC.

In a March interview with CNBC, Buffett said he had not spoken with Gates since the DOJ documents were released. He was direct about why. "I don't want to be in a position where I know things to be called as a witness," he said. He added, "I think until it gets cleared up, it doesn't make sense to do a lot of talking."

Gates told the House Oversight Committee that the last time he spoke to Buffett was in January, before the Epstein files were released. "We talked about my health challenges and some other things," Gates said in the deposition transcript, per Live Mint.

In early May, Gates did not attend the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. He was not formally barred from attending, but people around him advised against it, according to the Journal. It was the first time in years he had skipped the event.

Buffett's Personal Position, Stated Fairly

Buffett has been careful not to accuse Gates of wrongdoing. In March he spoke "fondly" of his personal relationship with the Microsoft co-founder, per CNBC. His stated posture is that he wants more information before committing billions of dollars, not that he has concluded Gates or the foundation did anything illegal. For any major donor, a nine-figure annual pledge warrants scrutiny when the recipient organization is under a formal legal review.

The Gates Foundation's stated position, per India Today, is that Gates "took responsibility for his actions." WilmerHale's review is the mechanism the foundation chose to address the scrutiny. Whether that review is sufficiently independent and whether its findings will satisfy Buffett remain open questions.

What This Does NOT Affect

Buffett's donations to his family's foundations are unaffected by the pause. That includes the charitable organizations run by each of his three children and the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named after his first wife, according to Live Mint. The Gates Foundation delay is specific to that institution.

Buffett stepped down as a Gates Foundation trustee in 2021 following the Gates divorce announcement. He told the Journal in 2024 that the foundation would receive no money from his estate after his death. Melinda French Gates left the foundation she co-founded in 2024 to pursue her own philanthropic work.

The Unresolved Question

WilmerHale's review findings are expected this summer. Whether those findings, whenever released, will be specific enough to satisfy Buffett, and whether the foundation's leadership has been fully transparent about the nature and duration of Epstein's access to foundation resources, is uncertain. If the review lands before Buffett writes his Thanksgiving letter, that document will be the first real public signal of whether a $4.5 billion annual giving relationship resumes or ends permanently.