Warren Buffett described Bill Gates’ past association with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as “disgusting.” However, he acknowledged that everyone makes mistakes and mentioned he recently met with Gates before halting his donations to the Gates Foundation.
The 95-year-old chairman of Berkshire Hathaway noted in a CNBC interview that he followed Gates’ sworn testimony to Congress this year, which indicated that Epstein had used Gates’ relationships with two Russian women to blackmail him.
“It’s uncomfortable, but while he has made mistakes, I think I have too, in the past, when it comes to hiring people and befriending them, only to discover they weren’t who I believed they were,” Buffett stated.
“There was nothing I encountered that was beyond my understanding of the situation. He ended that relationship, and I recognize there were some errors in my judgments… but life goes on. In the complex business of choosing the right people, you can’t ever achieve perfection.”
The so-called “Oracle of Omaha,” who has been friends with Gates for around 35 years, disclosed on Tuesday a $6 billion donation in Berkshire stock this year, but pointedly excluded the Gates Foundation, bringing their 20-year philanthropic collaboration to an end.
“I reassessed my entire situation,” Buffett explained. “I had donated a substantial amount to the Gates Foundation, thinking it was a wise choice. I still believe it was a fair choice, but I realized my children may not be ready to handle significant donations just yet.”
This year, he redirected his mid-year donations to four family-oriented foundations managed by his daughter Susie and sons Howard and Peter.
The Gates Foundation, co-founded by Gates and his ex-wife Melinda French Gates, has been the primary beneficiary of Buffett’s annual charitable giving, accumulating over $47 billion in Berkshire stock since 2006.
Gates testified to Congress last month that he first met Epstein in 2011, which was three years after Epstein’s guilty plea for soliciting sex from a minor and four years following a controversial non-prosecution deal with federal authorities. He stated that their relationship concluded by December 2014.
Gates hasn’t faced any criminal charges and has voiced remorse regarding his past interactions with various individuals involved in sex trafficking.
Buffett mentioned that he continues to maintain contact with Gates, having recently met with him for three hours in Omaha. He added that the essence of his philanthropy revolves around preparing his children to inherit his wealth.
“He visited Omaha about three weeks ago—time slips away from me, but it’s definitely not three months—and we had a lengthy chat,” Buffett shared. “He plans to call me again… he’s already brought up the idea of another get-together.”
Earlier this week, Buffett revealed his intention to sell all his Berkshire stock within the next eight years, citing that his children are “unfortunately growing older.”
The billionaire has stated that after he passes, his children will oversee a charitable trust that will encompass about 99.5% of his remaining estate.
This year, Buffett intends to donate 9 million Class B shares, valued at roughly $4.5 billion, to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named in honor of his late wife. Additionally, he has allocated one million Class B shares, worth about $500 million each, to his daughter Susie’s Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and his son Peter’s Novo Foundation.
