For the first time in 20 years, the billionaire investor postponed donating to his longtime friend’s charity fund because of the Epstein scandal.
June 30, WSJ Quoting close sources, investment legend Warren Buffett has postponed his annual donation to the Gates Foundation. This is a charity organization founded by Bill Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda.
Buffett wants to wait for the results of the review of the relationship between this fund and billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Results are expected this summer. Therefore, he may make a decision at the end of the year, when he releases his annual letter around Thanksgiving. This is the first time in two decades that Buffett has delayed a donation.
Since 2006, Buffett has donated $43 billion to the Gates Foundation. Contributions are made regularly every year. This year’s contribution is planned to be made in June.
Bill Gates (left) and Warren Buffett at an event at Columbia University in January 2017. Image: Reuters
Gates has known Epstein since 2011, three years after Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida state court to luring an underage girl. Emails and images proving their relationship are in documents released by the Department of Justice and the US Congress since the end of 2025. Epstein was arrested and committed suicide in prison in 2019, while awaiting trial on charges of sexual pimping and sexual abuse of minors.
In February, Bill Gates apologized to staff at the Gates Foundation about his connection to Epstein. However, he affirmed that he “did not do anything illegal”.
In an interview with CNBC On March 31, Buffett said he had not spoken to Gates since everything related to Epstein was announced. The two billionaires have been friends for decades.
“I don’t want to be in a situation where I know something and be considered a witness,” Buffett explained.
He also said he did not regret the tens of billions of dollars he donated to Bill Gates’ charity fund. “I wish some things hadn’t happened,” Buffett said. But when commenting on the fund’s activities, he affirmed: “They don’t take money for themselves.”