Warren Buffett, the former CEO and current chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, has decided to exclude the Gates Foundation from his annual stock donations to charity.

The move was first reported by CNBC, which noted that the “Oracle of Omaha” chose to direct this year’s shares entirely to the four foundations tied to his own family.

Buffett gives it all to family: “My children, unfortunately, are getting older”

The announcement came from Berkshire Hathaway itself, which confirmed that its 95-year-old chairman 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.

Here is how Buffett explained the decision in the statement accompanying the announcement:

«My goal is to give away all of my Berkshire shares over roughly eight years. As I explained last year, my children, unfortunately, are getting older. I very much hope all three will be able to complete the distribution of my shares by December 31, 2034.»

Gates Foundation left out of Buffett’s donations. Do Epstein ties play a role?

Among the organizations left out, the Gates Foundation stands out in particular. For years it was one of the main recipients of Berkshire’s annual stock gifts.

Since 2006, Buffett has donated more than $47 billion in Berkshire stock to the philanthropic organization founded by Bill Gates and his former wife, Melinda French Gates.

The exclusion follows a Wall Street Journal report that Buffett had suspended his customary Gates Foundation donation pending the outcome of a review into the foundation’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the financier convicted of sex offenses who died in 2019.

In a March interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick, Buffett said he had “not spoken to Gates since the whole matter came to light.”

What Buffett said about Gates a few months ago. A 20-year pledge broken

Asked whether the two were still close friends, Buffett said he had shared “extraordinary moments” with Bill Gates, but added that “until the situation is clarified... I don’t think it makes much sense to talk about it too much.”

CNBC noted that the decision marks a break from the commitment Buffett made 20 years ago. In a 2006 letter to Bill and Melinda Gates, Buffett wrote that he was making an “irrevocable” commitment to donate Berkshire shares annually to their foundation “for the rest of my life,” conditional on at least one of the two remaining actively involved in the organization.

Editor’s note

This article was originally published in Italian on money.it by Laura Naka Antonelli on July 14, 2026 as «Perché Warren Buffett ha escluso la Fondazione Gates dalle donazioni annuali di azioni. Stop dopo 20 anni». It has been translated and adapted for an international audience by the Money.it International desk.