Buffett severs Gates ties, sets 2034 deadline for $140B stake

Warren Buffett will donate no shares to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation this year, abruptly ending a two-decade philanthropic partnership that saw $48 billion flow to the organization. Instead, the 95-year-old is directing this year's tranche of 12 million Class B Berkshire Hathaway shares, worth roughly $6 billion, entirely to foundations managed by his children.

For Berkshire Hathaway investors, the announcement provides a concrete timeline for the eventual liquidation of Buffett's historic stake. He holds roughly $140 billion in Berkshire shares and pledged to distribute all of them to four family foundations by December 31, 2034. "Of course, mortality is unpredictable, but my remaining shares will be donated to the four foundations one way or the other by December 31, 2034," he wrote.

This year's allocation sends 9 million shares, valued at about $4.5 billion, to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, chaired by his daughter Susie Buffett. His sons Howard and Peter Buffett will each see their respective foundations receive 1 million shares, as will Susie Buffett's Sherwood Foundation.

The severing of ties with the Gates Foundation stems from a deteriorating relationship between Buffett and Bill Gates, driven partly by Gates' past association with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Buffett told CNBC in March he paused his midyear donation to the Gates Foundation pending the findings of a law firm review into the Epstein ties. "I’ll wait and see what unfolds," Buffett said regarding the Epstein files.

Gates has not been accused of illegal activity but acknowledged the reputational damage. "In the work I do, reputation is the basis for developing partnerships that save lives. Meeting with Epstein was a grave error in judgment and put this work at risk," Gates wrote to the House Oversight Committee last month. Buffett noted he had not spoken to Gates recently, stating: "I haven’t talked to him at all since the whole thing was unveiled. I don’t want to be in a position where I know things at the moment. I could get called as a witness."

The Gates Foundation downplayed the funding cutoff, noting it remains financially secure. “The Gates Foundation is grateful to Warren Buffett for his decades of support for our work. 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 said. “The foundation continues from a position of financial strength to advance our work through 2045, supported by Bill’s $200 billion commitment.”