According to a report on the US Fortune magazine website on March 31, American investor Warren Buffett said that he has severed contact with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates since documents related to the case of the late sex offender Epstein were released. According to reports, this is the first time Buffett has made a public statement on the matter.
According to the report, the 95-year-old Buffett said in an interview with the US Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC): "I have had no contact with him at all since the whole incident came to light. I don't want to be in the position of knowing something (because) I may be called to testify." Buffett also said that he did not want to comment too much on this topic until "the matter is resolved."
According to Buffett, he has never had any interaction with Epstein and has never met the man. He believes that because he has lived in Omaha, Nebraska for a long time, he did not have the opportunity to meet Epstein socially in New York. He said if you lived in New York and went to parties, you might have met him. Buffett called Epstein "one of the most successful liars in history." "I just couldn't believe how someone could deceive someone so successfully," he said.
"Fortune" magazine stated that the friendship between Buffett and Gates, the two former richest men in the world, began in 1991. The two later worked closely together in the philanthropic field, involving the Gates Foundation and launching the Giving Pledge initiative. Buffett has donated more than $43 billion to the Gates Foundation since 2006, accounting for nearly half of the foundation's total fundraising. In recent years, the relationship between the two has cooled. Buffett quit the Gates Foundation board of directors in 2021 and announced in 2024 that he would withdraw his decision to donate his inheritance to the foundation.
According to a previous report by the US "Wall Street Journal", Bill Gates apologized to Gates Foundation employees for his relationship with Epstein on February 24, admitting that he had extramarital affairs with two Russian women during his marriage, but at the same time insisted that he was not involved in Epstein's criminal behavior.
