Buffett omits gift to Bill Gates' foundation after Microsoft cofounder's Epstein ties disclosed

Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks to the press as he arrives at the 2019 annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on 4 May 2019. Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, speaks to the press as he arrives at the 2019 annual shareholders meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, on 4 May 2019. Photograph: Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images Buffett omits gift to Bill Gates' foundation after Microsoft cofounder's Epstein ties disclosed Gates has denied any ties to Epstein’s crimes and has not been accused of any wrongdoing Billionaire Warren Buffett omitted Bill Gates ′ foundation from his annual donations this year after disclosures of the Microsoft co-founder’s ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein . Buffett will donate about $6bn to four foundations connected to his own family, but did not mention Gates in his announcement Tuesday. Buffett also said in his statement that he wants all of his remaining Berkshire Hathaway stock worth more than $140bn donated to charity by the end of 2034. Previously the plan was for his three children to distribute his remaining fortune within 10 years of the 95-year-old investor’s death. “Of course, mortality is unpredictable, but my remaining shares will be donated to the four foundations one way or the other by December 31, 2034,” Buffett said in a statement. “The goal is to have the grants grow annually to each of the three foundations managed by each of my children and the annual grant to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation grow at a somewhat greater rate.” Buffett and the Gates Foundation did not immediately respond on Tuesday to questions. CNBC said Buffett is scheduled to give the channel an exclusive interview on this topic Wednesday morning. Buffett’s latest gifts are roughly equal to last year’s donations. The majority of Buffett’s charitable gifts – worth more than $61bn – have gone to the Gates Foundation since he announced the plan to give away his fortune in 2006. He has been giving blocks of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Gates Foundation and the four foundations run by his three children regularly. Buffett plans to give about $4.5bn in stock to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation this year and about $500m in shares each to the Sherwood Foundation, Howard G Buffett Foundation and Novo Foundation, which are run by his children. So the total amount of donations announced Tuesday is similar to the roughly $6bn in donations he made last summer, with Buffett’s family foundations getting significantly more than in previous years that would seem to account for the money that would have gone to the Gates Foundation. Gates has denied any ties to Epstein’s crimes Gates denies any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and has not been accused of any wrongdoing. He said he only met with Epstein because he thought it might help him raise money for charitable causes. Epstein, who was accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage g