By Andrew Bary
Warren Buffett is skipping what has been an annual midyear contribution to the Gates Foundation until he sees the foundation's review of its ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Buffett, 95, is delaying his decision until later this year and his plans to make an annual contribution to the four Buffett family foundations aren't affected, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with Buffett's plans. The Gates Foundation expects its external independent review to be completed this summer.
Buffett declined to comment to the Journal. The Gates Foundation didn't respond to requests for comment.
In late March, Buffett told CNBC he hadn't made up his mind on whether to continue his gifts to the Gates Foundation after new details emerged earlier this year on a relationship between Bill Gates and Epstein, who died in 2019.
Gates is the chairman and the largest donor to the Gates Foundation, which has an endowment of $89 billion. It annual charitable giving of more than $8 billion last year makes it one of the largest donors in the world. Buffett's annual gifts have accounted for a sizable percentage of the foundation's giving program.
On Monday, Barron's reported the possibility that Buffett might halt his gifts to the Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation and Buffett didn't respond to requests for comment.
Buffett has donated about $48 billion to the Gates Foundation since he began giving away his fortune in 2006. In 2025, Buffett announced his annual gift of Berkshire Hathaway stock in late June and roughly 75% of his $6 billion gifts went to the Gates Foundation and the rest to four family foundations, including three run by each of his three children.
Buffett has said that his contributions to the Gates Foundation will end after his death and that his children — Susan, Howard and Peter Buffett — will be responsible for giving away his fortune, consisting almost entirely of $145 billion in Berkshire stock, in roughly a decade after his death.
Write to Andrew Bary at andrew.bary@barrons.com
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