Buffett Skips Midyear Gates Foundation Donation Amid Epstein Review

Warren Buffett is pressing pause on his annual gift to the Gates Foundation for the first time in roughly two decades, as he waits on the results of an external review into the foundation’s past ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

What is happening

The Berkshire Hathaway chairman is skipping his usual midyear donation to the Gates Foundation for the first time in nearly two decades while he waits for the results of an external review into the organization’s past ties to Jeffrey Epstein, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Buffett is delaying his donation decision until later in the year, possibly until when he puts out his Thanksgiving letter, the WSJ report said, citing people familiar with Buffett’s plans. The gift has typically landed in June or early July in the form of Berkshire shares.

Why it matters for Berkshire

Buffett’s annual transfer is normally a large slug of Berkshire Hathaway stock leaving his personal holdings. Buffett has given roughly $48 billion from 2006 to 2025 to the foundation, typically transferring tranches of Berkshire shares in the middle of each year.

Last year, he donated $6 billion in Berkshire shares to the Gates Foundation and four Buffett family foundations, with the Gates Foundation receiving the largest share. A delayed transfer means fewer BRK shares hitting the market on the usual timetable, something arbitrage desks and index rebalancers tend to track.

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The Epstein overhang

The Gates Foundation has retained law firm WilmerHale to review its ties to the late sex offender, and its findings are expected this summer. Buffett and those close to him have been in touch with foundation leadership, including CEO Mark Suzman, to learn more about the Epstein ties and review.

In Gates’ testimony to the House Oversight Committee on June 10, he said that meeting with Epstein was a “grave error in judgment,” but denied witnessing criminal activity by Epstein or participating in any such behavior. Gates, 70, has not been accused of any crimes.

Buffett has already gone quiet

In March, Buffett told CNBC that he had not spoken to Bill Gates since the Epstein files were released, saying, “I don’t want to be in a position where I know things ... to be called as a witness.”

He told the Journal in 2024 that the foundation had no money coming from him after he dies. That same year, Melinda French Gates left the foundation she co-founded to concentrate on her own philanthropic goals.

Options market and stocks to watch

BRK.B: Watch for any change in the usual midyear share-donation flow. Buffett’s gifts often trigger conversions of A shares to B shares, and a delay changes the supply picture for anyone modeling that cadence.

MSFT: Watch for reputational headline risk tied to Bill Gates as the WilmerHale review lands this summer, even though Gates stepped away from day-to-day Microsoft years ago.

AAPL: Tim Cook has been a regular fixture at Berkshire’s annual meeting and in the Buffett-Gates orbit, so watch for any further signals about how the Berkshire inner circle is repositioning around the story. See more market news here.

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