Warren Buffett has ended one of the largest philanthropic partnerships in history. For the first time since 2006, the 95-year-old Berkshire Hathaway chairman did not include the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in his annual donation of Berkshire stock a relationship that had produced more than $47 billion in gifts over nearly two decades.
Buffett announced on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, that he will donate approximately 12 million Class B Berkshire Hathaway shares worth just under $6 billion entirely to four family-linked foundations. The Gates Foundation received nothing. The omission ends a giving relationship that Buffett himself described in 2006 as an “irrevocable” lifetime pledge.
AI Overview
Warren Buffett announced on July 14, 2026, that his annual charitable donations of Berkshire Hathaway stock would be directed entirely to four family foundations, excluding the Gates Foundation for the first time since he began donating to it in 2006. The total donation is approximately $5.9 billion 9 million Class B shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation (worth approximately $4.4 billion) and 1 million shares each (approximately $496 million each) to the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation.
Buffett has been withholding his customary Gates Foundation donation while awaiting the outcome of an outside legal review the foundation commissioned to examine its ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In a March 2026 CNBC interview, Buffett said he had not spoken with Bill Gates “at all since the whole thing was unveiled” and said he would “wait and see what unfolds” before deciding on future donations.
The Gates Foundation thanked Buffett in a statement and noted his total giving to the organization more than $47 billion since 2006 while stating the foundation “continues from a position of financial strength” with Bill Gates’s separate $200 billion commitment to fund operations through 2045.
Key Facts
| Detail | Information |
| Announcement date | July 14, 2026 |
| Total 2026 donation | ~$5.9 billion (12 million Class B Berkshire shares) |
| Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation | 9 million Class B shares (~$4.4 billion) |
| Sherwood Foundation (Susie Buffett) | 1 million Class B shares (~$496 million) |
| Howard G. Buffett Foundation | 1 million Class B shares (~$496 million) |
| NoVo Foundation (Peter & Jennifer Buffett) | 1 million Class B shares (~$496 million) |
| Gates Foundation 2026 donation | $0 first omission since 2006 |
| Total given to Gates Foundation (lifetime) | More than $47 billion |
| Last year’s Gates Foundation donation | 9.4 million shares worth approximately $4.6 billion |
| Reason for omission | Awaiting outcome of outside legal review into Gates-Epstein ties |
| Buffett’s relationship with Gates (current) | Not speaking Buffett confirmed no contact since Epstein disclosures |
| Buffett’s share disposal target | All Berkshire shares disposed by December 31, 2034 |
| Buffett’s net worth | $147 billion (10th wealthiest person globally) |
| Berkshire Hathaway current valuation | $1.1 trillion |
| Buffett’s Berkshire ownership stake | Approximately 30% |
The Donations: Where the Money Is Going
Buffett’s 2026 charitable giving totals approximately $5.9 billion distributed across four foundations, all connected to his family.
Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation $4.4 billion (9 million Class B shares) The largest recipient, named after Buffett’s late wife Susan Thompson Buffett who died in 2004. This foundation focuses primarily on reproductive health and education access. It has been the largest beneficiary of Buffett’s family-directed giving in past years.
Sherwood Foundation ~$496 million (1 million Class B shares) Founded by and overseen by Susie Buffett, Warren Buffett’s daughter. The Sherwood Foundation is based in Omaha and focuses on education, early childhood, economic mobility, and civic issues in Nebraska.
Howard G. Buffett Foundation ~$496 million (1 million Class B shares) Run by Warren Buffett’s son Howard Buffett. The Howard G. Buffett Foundation focuses on food security, conflict recovery, and agricultural development in some of the world’s poorest regions.
NoVo Foundation ~$496 million (1 million Class B shares) Founded by Peter Buffett and his wife Jennifer Buffett. NoVo focuses on girls’ and women’s rights, social and emotional learning, and addressing systemic disadvantages facing girls globally.
Buffett made clear in his announcement statement that the pace of his giving will continue. “My goal is to dispose of all of my Berkshire shares within about eight years,” he said. “As I explained last year, my children are unfortunately growing older. I have every hope that the three of them are able to carry out the disposal of my shares by December 31, 2034.”
The Gates Foundation: 20 Years of Partnership Ended
The omission represents one of the most consequential shifts in the history of organized philanthropy. Buffett’s relationship with the Gates Foundation began in 2006, when he made what he described at the time as an “irrevocable” lifetime pledge to donate to the foundation as long as either Bill Gates or Melinda French Gates was alive and actively involved with the organization.
That pledge produced extraordinary results. By 2022, the Gates Foundation confirmed Buffett’s donations had totaled $36 billion. He continued donating for three more years including $4.6 billion in shares last year alone. The total now exceeds $47 billion, making Buffett the single largest external donor in the Gates Foundation’s history and arguably the largest individual philanthropic donor to any single organization in modern history.
Just last year, Buffett donated 9.4 million Gates Foundation shares. This year, he donated zero.
The Gates Foundation’s statement was measured: “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 continues from a position of financial strength to advance our work through 2045, supported by Bill’s $200 billion commitment.”
The statement’s emphasis on financial strength is significant. Bill Gates separately committed $200 billion to fund foundation operations over the following 20 years, which the foundation has said will allow it to spend out its endowment before shutting down in 2045. Buffett’s exit does not threaten the foundation’s operational continuity.
The Epstein Connection: Why Buffett Pulled Back
The Gates Foundation does not exist in a vacuum in 2026. The relationship between the Gates-Buffett philanthropic alliance and the broader narrative surrounding Bill Gates’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein has been central to understanding why this year’s omission happened.
Buffett began signaling his hesitation earlier in 2026. In a March interview with CNBC’s Becky Quick, he said he had not spoken with Gates “at all since the whole thing was unveiled.” When asked whether the two remained close friends, Buffett said they had shared “great times together,” but added: “Until it gets cleared up, I just don’t think it makes sense to do a lot of talking.”
He was explicit that one reason for his silence was self-protective. He said he doesn’t want to be called to testify about Epstein’s ties to Gates. Buffett was equally clear that he has no personal connection to Epstein: he said he never met Epstein and had no contact with him.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Buffett had been holding off on his customary donation while awaiting the outcome of a review by outside attorneys hired by the foundation to examine its ties to Epstein. That review was commissioned by the foundation itself a recognition of the reputational risk the Epstein association had created.
In a March CNBC interview, Buffett also declined to commit to resuming donations, saying: “I’ll wait and see what unfolds.” His July 14 announcement in which the Gates Foundation does not appear appears to reflect exactly that wait-and-see posture: not a permanent termination, but not a resumption either.
Gates, for his part, testified before a House committee last month that he had no knowledge of Epstein’s crimes. He had previously apologized to foundation staff for his ties to Epstein, calling his relationship with Epstein “a huge mistake,” while strongly denying any personal wrongdoing.
The History of the Buffett-Gates Philanthropic Alliance
The partnership between Warren Buffett and Bill Gates was the most prominent bilateral philanthropic relationship in the world for nearly two decades not just in terms of money but in terms of influence and norm-setting.
2006: Buffett announced his gift to the Gates Foundation, describing the pledge as irrevocable. He was a founding trustee of the organization.
2010: Buffett and Gates co-founded The Giving Pledge together an initiative encouraging billionaires to commit the majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes. The pledge has since attracted hundreds of signatories globally.
2021: Melinda French Gates announced her divorce from Bill Gates and departed the foundation after more than 20 years. Buffett resigned from the foundation’s board the same year, though he continued donating.
2022: The Gates Foundation confirmed Buffett’s cumulative donations had reached $36 billion.
2024: Gates told Fortune that he and Buffett “love talking to each other.” Buffett continued donating, including a large annual contribution.
2025: Buffett donated 9.4 million Gates Foundation shares worth $4.6 billion one of his largest single-year contributions.
Early 2026: Disclosures of Gates’s relationship with Epstein intensified. Buffett confirmed to CNBC he had stopped speaking with Gates. He said he would “wait and see” on future donations. He stepped down as Berkshire CEO in January 2026 after 60 years, with Greg Abel taking over as CEO.
July 14, 2026: Buffett announces annual donation of $5.9 billion to four family foundations. Gates Foundation omitted for the first time since 2006.
What This Means for the Gates Foundation
The immediate financial impact on the Gates Foundation is significant in absolute terms Buffett donated $4.6 billion last year and nothing this year but the foundation’s position is not precarious.
Bill Gates has separately committed $200 billion to fund foundation operations over the following 20 years. The foundation announced plans in 2025 to spend more than $200 billion over that period before paying out its remaining endowment and shutting down in 2045. The foundation’s leadership stated it “continues from a position of financial strength.”
However, the reputational dimension is harder to manage. Warren Buffett has been the Gates Foundation’s most prominent external validator for 20 years his participation lent the organization the credibility of one of the most trusted figures in American business. His withdrawal, even if framed as conditional, is not simply a financial decision. It is a statement about the organization’s current standing in his judgment.
Buffett himself did not characterize it as a permanent break. His language “wait and see,” “until it gets cleared up” is deliberately noncommittal. He was explicit that he does not regret his past donations, saying: “I wish that certain things hadn’t happened. But it isn’t like they’re stealing money for themselves.” That is meaningfully different from a denunciation it reads more like a pause than an ending.
Buffett at 95: The Final Chapter of Giving
The 2026 donation announcement also provides a clear picture of how Buffett sees the final years of his extraordinary philanthropic career.
He is 95 years old, stepped down as Berkshire CEO in January 2026, and remains the company’s chairman and largest shareholder with approximately 30% of Berkshire stock. His net worth stands at $147 billion, making him the tenth-wealthiest person in the world.
His stated goal is to dispose of all his Berkshire shares within eight years by December 31, 2034 at the latest. The responsibility for completing that disposal, he has said, falls primarily to his three children: Susie, Howard, and Peter all of whom lead foundations that received significant donations in Tuesday’s announcement.
In 2006, Buffett pledged to give away more than 99% of his fortune. His cumulative giving to date through Berkshire stock donations alone approaches the scale that would fulfill that pledge when combined with all other charitable activities across his career. The redirection of this year’s $5.9 billion toward his children’s foundations signals a consolidation of his giving legacy into family stewardship a transition from the cross-billionaire philanthropic alliance of the Gates-Buffett era into something more focused, more personal, and more directly controlled.
He will discuss the 2026 donations in an exclusive appearance on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Wednesday, July 15, 2026 providing a direct opportunity to hear his own characterization of the Gates Foundation omission.
FAQs
Why did Warren Buffett stop donating to the Gates Foundation?
Buffett is withholding his donation while the Gates Foundation undergoes an outside legal review examining its ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Buffett said in March 2026 he has not spoken with Gates since the Epstein disclosures and that he would “wait and see what unfolds” before deciding on future donations.
How much has Buffett given to the Gates Foundation over his lifetime?
More than $47 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stock since 2006 making Buffett the single largest external donor in the Gates Foundation’s history.
How much did Buffett donate in 2026 and to whom?
Approximately $5.9 billion (12 million Class B Berkshire shares): $4.4 billion to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, and approximately $496 million each to the Sherwood Foundation, the Howard G. Buffett Foundation, and the NoVo Foundation.
Is the Gates Foundation in financial trouble without Buffett?
No. Bill Gates has separately committed $200 billion to fund foundation operations through 2045. The foundation stated it “continues from a position of financial strength.”
Has Buffett permanently ended his relationship with the Gates Foundation?
He has not characterized it that way. His language “wait and see,” “until it gets cleared up” suggests a conditional pause rather than a permanent termination. No announcement of a permanent end has been made.
What is Warren Buffett’s net worth in 2026?
Approximately $147 billion, making him the tenth-wealthiest person in the world. Berkshire Hathaway, of which he owns approximately 30%, is currently valued at $1.1 trillion.
What did the Gates Foundation say about being excluded?
The foundation thanked Buffett for his more than $47 billion in lifetime giving and stated: “The foundation continues from a position of financial strength to advance our work through 2045, supported by Bill’s $200 billion commitment.”
