Each summer, like clockwork, Warren Buffett donates millions of shares of his valuable Berkshire Hathaway stock to five foundations.<\/p>\n
This summer? Only four.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Mr. Buffett \u2014 one of the world\u2019s wealthiest people and biggest philanthropists \u2014 declined to give billions of dollars to the Gates Foundation, as was his habit for two decades. His decision appears to be the latest reverberation of the fallout from the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Mr. Epstein, the disgraced financier, maintained extensive relations with Bill Gates, a longtime friend of Mr. Buffett\u2019s and a co-trustee of the Gates Foundation.<\/p>\n
Mr. Buffett\u2019s annual philanthropy announcement disclosed that he was donating shares only to four foundations affiliated with his late wife and his three adult children. He made no mention of the Gates Foundation in the news release, nor of the Epstein files.<\/p>\n
Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported<\/a> that Mr. Buffett was waiting on the results of an outside investigation<\/a> launched by the Gates Foundation into its ties to Mr. Epstein before making his typical disbursement.<\/p>\n The Epstein files released by the Justice Department revealed an extensive relationship between Mr. Epstein and Mr. Gates, including tawdry allegations from Mr. Epstein<\/a> about Mr. Gates\u2019s love life. Mr. Gates told Congress last month<\/a> that Mr. Epstein sought to exploit Mr. Gates\u2019s extramarital affairs and use them against him.<\/p>\n Back in 2006, Mr. Buffett first began making annual gifts to select foundations. \u201cI am irrevocably committing to make annual gifts of Berkshire Hathaway \u2018B\u2019 shares throughout my lifetime for the benefit,\u201d of the foundation, he wrote.<\/a><\/p>\n