Warren Buffett said he recently spoke with Bill Gates and described the Microsoft co-founder’s past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as “distasteful,” while adding that “people make mistakes.”
“I read a great deal since January 1 in terms of what happened, with Bill and Epstein,” Buffett said in an interview with CNBC. “While it’s distasteful, while he made mistakes, I made mistakes, hiring all kinds of people, or choosing friends, and then finding out later that, one way or other, they weren’t what I thought they were. I found nothing in there that was beyond what I could picture myself doing.” Buffett and Gates have been friends for more than three decades.
Buffett says he recently met Gates
Buffett said the two are still in touch and met recently in Omaha. “He came by Omaha three weeks ago. I kind of lose track of time, but certainly not three months, and we spent three hours talking together,” Buffett said. “He intends to call me… He already proposed another meeting.”
Earlier this year, Buffett had said he had not spoken with Gates “at all since the whole thing was unveiled.” Asked earlier whether they remained close, Buffett had said they shared “great times together,” but added, “Until it gets cleared up … I just don’t think it makes sense to do a lot of talking.“
Buffett excludes Gates Foundation from donations
Buffett has not included the Gates Foundation in his latest round of charitable donations, breaking from a long-standing pattern.
For years, the foundation was the biggest recipient of his annual Berkshire Hathaway donations. Since 2006, Buffett has given more than $47 billion worth of Berkshire stock to the organisation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates.
This year, Buffett directed his donations to four family-linked foundations instead.
Berkshire Hathaway said he will donate 9 million Class B shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, and 1 million shares each to the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the NoVo Foundation.
This follows a Wall Street Journal report that Buffett had paused donations to the Gates Foundation while reviewing its past ties to Epstein.
Buffett outlines plan to give away wealth
Buffett said he plans to give away all his Berkshire shares over time. “My goal is to dispose of all of my Berkshire shares within about eight years,” he said in a statement. “As I explained last year, my children are unfortunately growing older. I have every hope that the three of them are able to carry out the disposal of my shares by December 31, 2034.“
His latest decision is a complete shift from a 2006 pledge, where he said he was “irrevocably committing” to donate shares to the Gates Foundation during his lifetime, as long as either Bill or Melinda remained active in it.
Gates Foundation responds
The Gates Foundation said it remains grateful for Buffett’s long support. “The Gates Foundation is grateful to Warren Buffett for his decades of support for our work,” it said in a statement to CNBC. “His gifts, totaling more than $47 billion, have helped us expand and deliver on the foundation’s mission to improve health and opportunity for people around the world. The foundation continues from a position of financial strength to advance our work through 2045, supported by Bill’s $200 billion commitment.”
