Warren Buffett has done it nearly every summer for close to two decades. This year, he stopped.
The billionaire investor is holding back his usual midyear donation to the Gates Foundation while the organization completes an outside review of its past ties to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to reporting first published by the Wall Street Journal on June 29 and 30, 2026. It marks the first time in about 20 years that Buffett has postponed the annual gift, a pause that has drawn attention across the philanthropic and financial worlds.
A pause, not a cancellation
It is worth being precise about what this development is and is not. Buffett has not announced that he is ending his support for the Gates Foundation, and he has not accused anyone of wrongdoing. What he has done is delay a scheduled gift while an external review runs its course. People familiar with his thinking describe the move as a hold, with a final decision expected later rather than a permanent break.
The review at the center of the story concerns the foundation as an institution, not the personal conduct of Buffett or of Bill and Melinda French Gates. The Gates Foundation has retained the law firm WilmerHale to examine the organization’s historical engagement with Epstein, questions that resurfaced after documents were released late last year through congressional and Justice Department channels.
Buffett’s circle reaches out
According to the reporting, people in Buffett’s orbit have contacted foundation leadership, including chief executive Mark Suzman, to better understand both the scope of the past relationship and where the outside review currently stands. The goal, by those accounts, is to see the findings before any further money moves.
Buffett has been one of the Gates Foundation’s most significant benefactors for years, channeling a substantial share of his fortune through the organization as part of his broader pledge to give away nearly all of his wealth. That long history is precisely what makes this year’s pause notable: a donor who has rarely wavered is choosing to wait.
What comes next
The findings of the WilmerHale review are expected this summer. A final decision on the gift could come later in the year, potentially in Buffett’s annual Thanksgiving letter, the note he traditionally uses to lay out his giving plans and reflect on the year.
The story has been corroborated by multiple outlets, including Bloomberg, CNBC and Forbes, all citing the same core facts: a delayed donation, an ongoing review of Epstein-related ties, and a decision still pending.
For all the caution around the details, the signal is hard to miss. One of the world’s most famous philanthropists is treating even long-standing generosity as something that can be paused when questions of accountability are on the table. When a donor who has given away tens of billions decides to wait, people notice, and the question now is what the foundation will need to show before that gift resumes.