Bill Gates just lost a $140 billion inheritance after Warren Buffett changed his mind
Warren Buffett has made quite a reputation for himself over the years, and although he officially stepped down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO in December 2025, his legacy as one of the world's richest men and a savvy investor continues.
At the time of writing, the 95-year-old boasts an impressive $138.8 billion fortune, making him the tenth richest person in the world. While Warren Buffett's wealth is some way off Elon Musk's $860 billion, he's still in the big leagues.
Buffett would arguably be a lot richer if not for being one of those who signed up to The Giving Pledge, vowing to give away 99% of his fortune to charitable organizations. Founded by Buffett, Bill Gates, and Melinda French Gates in 2010, the aim of The Giving Pledge is to encourage others to donate over 50% of their wealth.
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There's been plenty of controversy surrounding the pledge's uselessness, especially as Musk was among those who initially signed on but has yet to give away the majority of his money. The same can be said for the likes of Oracle's Larry Ellison and Mark Zuckerberg, although the Meta overlord is said to have handed over a sizeable amount.
Elsewhere, PayPal's Peter Thiel has encouraged billionaires not to donate to The Giving Pledge.
The Giving Pledge and the Gates Foundation charitable organizations were recently called into question due to Bill Gates being mentioned in the Epstein Files.
Gates has denied any wrongdoing and said he 'regrets' every minute he spent with the shamed financier, but in the aftermath, Buffett announced he was cutting ties with The Gates Foundation and was distancing himself from the Microsoft co-founder
Although we already knew this was coming, the BBC confirms that The Giving Pledge is off the list of companies that received billions of dollars worth of stock from Berkshire Hathaway every year. In 2006, Buffett 'irrevocably' vowed to donate these stocks every year to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (later evolving into The Gates Foundation), saying it would continue "throughout my lifetime."
Now, his stock will be split between four foundations that have involvement from members of the Buffett family. Buffett said he plans to get rid of his remaining stock over the next eight years, adding: "Of course, mortality is unpredictable. But my remaining shares will be donated to the four foundations one way or the other by 31 December, 2034."
Over the years, Buffett has donated an impressive $47 billion to Gates' charity, with The Gates Foundation telling the BBC it was "grateful to Warren Buffett for his decades of support for our work." The charitable organization added: "The foundation continues from a position of financial strength to advance our work through 2045, supported by Bill's $200bn commitment."
Buffett hasn't totally cut ties with Gates, again speaking about the whole Epstein scandal in an interview with CNBC.
Buffett told CNBC's Becky Quick: "I read a great deal since Jan. 1 in terms of what happened, with Bill and Epstein. While it’s distasteful, while he made mistakes, I made mistakes, hiring all kinds of people, or choosing friends, and then finding out later that, one way or other, they weren’t what I thought they were. I found nothing in there that was beyond what I could picture myself doing."
He also confirmed that he and Gates are still in contact, recently spending several hours together in Omaha, and Gates apparently proposing another meeting.
Still, Buffett has stuck to his promise of extensively reviewing Gates' involvement with Epstein before deciding what he was going to do with his charitable donations.