Warren Buffett described Bill Gates’s relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as “distasteful,” while noting that he had also made mistakes in life by associating with people who weren’t “great.” On Tuesday, Berkshire Hathaway stopped making donations to Gates’s charity for the first time in 20 years, choosing to redirect his remaining Berkshire stock to foundations linked to his family.
Buffett told CNBC that he and Gates have had a “wonderful friendship,” and he confirmed that the donation pivot followed Gates’s testimony to the US Congress about Epstein. Gates called Buffett “a dear friend,” saying, “My gratitude to Warren is immeasurable.” Gates testified before the US House Oversight Committee in June to address questions about his ties to Epstein, who died in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
In Gates’s testimony transcript, he said Epstein was introduced to him in 2011 as someone who could help raise billions for global health, a core aim of the Gates Foundation. Gates added that he was aware Epstein had faced prior legal issues, but did not fully understand the extent of the crimes.
Gates told the committee that he should never have met Epstein and noted that even if Epstein had delivered donor support, that would not have justified his association. Buffett said he had read Gates’s testimony and remarked that while the situation was distasteful and marked by mistakes, he, too, had made hiring mistakes and decisions about friends.
Buffett said the decision to halt donations to the Gates Foundation did not surprise Gates. The two men met about three weeks ago for three hours. Buffett emphasized that their friendship has endured since they met in 1991 and described it as “an enormous number of good times.” Gates expressed appreciation for their friendship and indicated a desire to continue working together in the future.
Since 2006, Buffett pledged to donate to the Gates Foundation “throughout my lifetime,” and he has contributed about $47 billion to the charity. Even without Buffett’s backing, Gates Foundation remains financially robust, according to Buffett. In 2025, the Gates Foundation donated about $8.5 billion in charitable support.
The exchange highlights evolving views on philanthropy, personal associations, and long-running commitments to global health initiatives.
