Warren Buffett stops Gates Foundation donations following Epstein revelations


Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett seen at the annual Berkshire shareholder shopping day in Omaha, Nebraska, U.S., May 3, 2019. REUTERS/Scott Morgan

July 14 (Reuters) - Warren ⁠Buffett confirmed he has stopped donating money ⁠to the Gates Foundation, following revelations about ‌interactions between the Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Buffett said on Tuesday ​he is donating about $6 billion ⁠of Berkshire Hathaway stock, ⁠comprising 12 million Class B shares, to four family ⁠foundations ‌overseen by his daughter Susie and sons Howard and Peter.

He also said ⁠he will donate his remaining Berkshire shares "one ​way or ‌the other" to the four foundations by December ⁠31, ​2034.

The 95-year-old Berkshire chairman did not mention the Gates Foundation, which has received more than $47 billion of ⁠the conglomerate's stock since Buffett ​in 2006 made what he called an irrevocable pledge to donate shares throughout his lifetime. Buffett's donation ⁠was more than $4.5 billion last year.

Bill Gates told members of Congress in June that he "did not fully understand the extent" of Epstein's crimes when ​he associated with the ⁠late convicted sex offender to raise money for his ​philanthropic foundation.

Gates also testified that ‌he never witnessed any ​criminal conduct from Epstein.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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