Warren Buffett withdraws support for the Gates Foundation as Melinda leaves
In a surprising shift, Warren Buffett announced he will end his support for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, redirecting his $130 billion estate to charities led by his children. Buffett, who has donated over $30 billion to the Gates Foundation since 2006, cited a desire to diversify his philanthropic efforts. This change coincides with Melinda Gates's focus on her own initiative, Pivotal Ventures, and comes after Bill Gates's departure from the Berkshire Hathaway board.
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In a surprising turn of events, Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and philanthropist, announced his decision to end his longstanding support for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Buffett's move marks a significant shift in the philanthropic landscape, given his substantial contributions to the Foundation since 2006.
The change in Buffett's support follows a decision to allocate the bulk of his $130bn estate to the three foundations run by his children Howard, Susie and Peter. It also co-incides the resignation from the foundation of Melinda Gates three years after she divorced the Microsoft Founder.
Bill Gates stepped off the Berkshire Hathaway board of directors in 2020 shortly before allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced. These included an affair with a Microsoft employee and alleged unwanted advances towards women in the workplace. His relationship with the sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein was also cited as among the reasons for the divorce.
In a statement on X, Melinda said under an agreement with her ex-husband she would have "an additional $12.5bn" for her own organisation, Pivotal Ventures, created to help women and families. The former partnership will become The Gates Foundation.
Buffett, aged 93, made the announcement during a press conference over the weekend at Berkshire Hathaway's headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. In his statement, Buffett expressed deep respect and admiration for Bill and Melinda Gates but cited a need to diversify his philanthropic efforts as the primary reason for his decision.
"I have immense respect for the work Bill and Melinda have done through their foundation. It has made a profound impact on global health, education, and poverty alleviation. However, I believe it is time for me to allocate my resources to other areas that also need urgent attention," Buffett stated.
Since 2006, Buffett has donated more than $30 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway shares to the Gates Foundation, making him one of its largest benefactors. His donations have supported various initiatives, including efforts to eradicate polio, improve global health systems, and enhance educational opportunities worldwide.
Buffett outlined his future philanthropic plans, emphasizing his commitment to supporting a broader array of causes. He indicated a desire to focus more on climate change, economic inequality, and scientific research.
"I am looking forward to exploring new opportunities and supporting innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing problems. There is a vast landscape of need, and I am eager to make a difference in new ways," Buffett explained.
In response to Buffett's announcement, the Gates Foundation released a statement expressing gratitude for his years of support and his transformative contributions.
"Warren's generosity has been a cornerstone of our foundation's success. We are deeply grateful for his partnership and the incredible impact he has had on our work. We respect his decision and wish him all the best in his future endeavours," the statement read.
Report from Bloomberg
By Steve Dickson of Bloomberg
Warren Buffett's donations to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will stop when he dies, with his daughter and two sons overseeing a new charitable trust, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
"The Gates Foundation has no money coming after my death," the 93-year-old chairman and chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. told the newspaper in an interview.
The three children — Susie, Howard and Peter — must unanimously decide how to allocate future donations, which Buffett said should be used "to help people that haven't been as lucky as we have been."
Buffett is the world's 10th-richest person, with a net worth of $134.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. In 2010, he started the Giving Pledge, with his friends Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, saying he would donate his fortune either in his lifetime or at his death. Four years earlier, he started making massive donations to the Gates's foundation, as well as foundations tied to his children.
In a statement Friday, Berkshire said Buffett would donate more than 13 million shares of Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares to five foundations, including the Gates Foundation.
The five foundations have received Berkshire Class B shares with a value about $55 billion, more than Buffett's entire net worth in 2006, when a schedule for the gifts was first established, according to the statement.
Report from Reuters
By Jonathan Stempel of Reuters
Warren Buffett donated another $5.3 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities, his biggest annual donation since he began making them in 2006.
Buffett's donation boosted his overall giving to the charities to about $57 billion, including to the family charities in the last two Novembers. The latest donation, announced on Friday, included about 13 million Berkshire Class B shares.
Buffett donated 9.93 million shares to the Gates Foundation, and has donated more than $43 billion of Berkshire shares there overall.
He also donated 993,035 shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named for his late first wife, and 695,122 shares to each of three charities led by his children
Howard, Susan and Peter: the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, the Sherwood Foundation and the NoVo Foundation.
Buffett, 93, plans to give away more than 99% of the fortune he built at Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire, which he has run since 1965, with his children serving as executors of his will.
Berkshire is an approximately $880 billion conglomerate that owns dozens of businesses including the BNSF railroad and Geico car insurance, and stocks such as Apple AAPL.O.
Buffett still owns 14.5% of Berkshire's outstanding shares, a Friday regulatory filing shows, despite having given away more than half of his stock since 2006.
His $128.4 billion fortune makes him the world's 10th-richest person, according to
Forbes magazine.
In a statement, Buffett said he was worth about $44 billion when the donations began, but that the benefits of compounding, "simple and generally sound capital deployment" at Berkshire, and the "American tailwind" produced his current wealth.
Buffett, Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates also pioneered the Giving Pledge, in which 245 people like OpenAI's Sam Altman, Michael Bloomberg, Carl Icahn, Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg committed at least half of their wealth to philanthropy.
The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation works in reproductive health. The Howard G. Buffett Foundation works to alleviate hunger, mitigate conflicts including in Ukraine, and improve public safety. The Sherwood Foundation supports Nebraska nonprofits, and the NoVo Foundation has initiatives focused on girls and women.
Friday's filing suggests based on Buffett's holdings that Berkshire has repurchased little or none of its own stock since April 19.
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