Revelations in the Jeffrey Epstein files about the notorious sex offender’s connections to Bill Gates have severely strained, and perhaps ended, the Microsoft co-founder’s famous friendship with Warren Buffett.
They could also prompt Buffett to cut off his annual multi-billion-dollar donations to the Gates Foundation.
In a one-hour-plus sit-down interview (full audio and transcript appear below) that aired on Tuesday’s “Squawk Box,” Buffett told Becky Quick he has not talked to Gates “at all since the whole thing was unveiled.”
Asked if he is still “good friends” with Gates, Buffett replied they’d had “great times together,” but “until it gets cleared up … I just don’t think it makes sense to do a lot of talking.”
Noting that his “memory is no good anymore,” Buffett added, “I don’t want to be under oath, in terms of trying to remember everything over 30 years, or 20 years, the foundation’s done, or anything like that.”
“I didn’t have anything to do with it, except I put money in it.”
In response to Quick’s question on whether he will continue to give money to the Gates Foundation, Buffett said, “I’ll wait and see what unfolds … I don’t have to make that decision today. And I haven’t made it today.”
“I’ve learned things I didn’t know about something for all these years.”
Buffett said he doesn’t think “Bill had anything to do with girls or the island or anything like that,” but he still wants to learn more as revelations continue.
Buffett is relieved he “never came near” Epstein, calling him a “sensational conman” who preyed on others’ weaknesses, although that “doesn’t excuse the people on the other end.”
In 2006, Buffett wrote to Bill and Melinda Gates that he was “irrevocably committing” to make annual gifts of Berkshire shares to their foundation “throughout my lifetime,” as long as at least one of them was actively involved, the gifts did not become subject to a tax, and the foundation actively spent the contributions on its philanthropic activities.
The letter also said Buffett’s will would “provide for a continuation of this commitment … after my death.”
Two years ago, however, Buffett confirmed to the Wall Street Journal the Gates Foundation “has no money coming after my death.”
The previous November, he had announced that his three children would be jointly responsible for giving away almost all his wealth after he dies.
Buffett: I sold Apple shares ‘too soon’
In the interview, Buffett conceded he started reducing Berkshire’s massive Apple stake “too soon,” but added with a laugh, “I bought it even sooner. So, it worked out.”
As of the end of December, the position had been cut by 75% since sales began in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Over that time, Apple’s stock price has increased by almost 50%.
Even after the selling, however, Apple remains Berkshire’s largest equity position with a market value of $58.3 billion, which is roughly 18% of the portfolio.
If Berkshire had kept the 915.6 million shares it held as of Sept. 30, 2023, the stake would be worth more than $234 billion.
In that hypothetical, it would be almost 48% of the portfolio.
Buffett said, “I’m very happy to have it be our largest holding. I was not happy to have it be as large as almost everything else combined.”
“It’s not impossible that Apple would get to a price [where] we would buy a lot of it,” he added. “But not in this market. I mean, it just isn’t going to happen in this market.”
Buffett still has a hand in Berkshire’s investing decisions
Buffett said that even though he stepped down as CEO at the end of last year, he still comes into Berkshire’s offices every day as chairman and is involved in some investing decisions.
But, he added, “I won’t make any that [new CEO] Greg [Abel] thinks are wrong.”
Buffett said he had made “one tiny purchase,” but he’s not finding many potential buys despite the stock market’s recent declines, which he said aren’t substantial and “nothing to make you excited.”
Fed should have a ‘zero’ inflation target
Buffett says he “wouldn’t want the responsibility” of running the Federal Reserve, but he wishes the central bank “had a zero inflation target” instead of its current goal of a 2% annual increase.
“Once you start saying you’re going to tolerate 2%, that compounds pretty dramatically over time… I don’t like that particular goal.”
In the government’s most recent report, the February consumer price index was up 2.4% versus the same month last year.
Buffett: Iranian atomic bomb would raise risk of nuclear catastrophe
For a long time, Buffett has been concerned about nuclear proliferation, calling it “the ultimate problem of mankind” in 2006.
While he doesn’t know how to fix the problem, he does know that “it’ll be more difficult if Iran has the bomb than [if] they don’t.”
Buffett, however, wouldn’t say whether he thinks the U.S. should try to seize Iran’s enriched uranium.
Buffett revives charity auction with NBA star, may get hoops lesson
Warren Buffett is teaming up with the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry and his wife, lifestyle entrepreneur Ayesha Curry, for a charity auction.
The winning bidder for “A Seat at the Table,” and up to seven guests, will share a June 24 lunch in Omaha with the trio.
The eBay auction starts May 7 at 7:30 p.m. PT and ends exactly one week later.
Proceeds will be split between San Francisco’s Glide Foundation and the Currys’ Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation that is “working to transform the school experience for a generation of Oakland students.”
In his CNBC interview, Buffett revealed that he will personally make matching donations to the two groups.
“Steph is the hero of millions and millions of people. So, I really think it’ll work.”
AP reports that in a video call with reporters this week as he prepared to resume playing after missing more than two dozen games due to a knee injury, Curry, 38, said Buffett, 95, wants a lesson on how to shoot a basketball.
“If not a permanent basketball hoop, I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a mobile one out there so I can make good on my promise to teach him some form.
“We’ll see how he can do. I haven’t seen any video of a Warren Buffett jump shot, but we’ll see.”
Buffett’s lunch auctions raised more than $53 million for Glide over two decades. In 2022, what was then called the “grand finale” of the series was won by an anonymous bidder for $19 million.
In this week’s interview, Buffett said he had “run out of gas” but revived his participation in the auction, at least for this year, because it had “fizzled” without him and “it would have killed me to have it just die off.”
Berkshire shares start week with a win, ending 8-day losing streak
Shares of Berkshire Hathaway ended Monday with a 1.3% gain, breaking a string of eight consecutive daily losses that began on March 18.
It was their longest losing streak in more than seven years.
Both the Class A and Class B shares also advanced on Tuesday and fell Wednesday.
On Thursday, BRKA managed a very small gain, while BRKB dropped slightly.
The U.S. stock market was closed for Good Friday.
The eight-day losing streak pushed the A shares down 4.7% and the B shares fell 4.9%.
They erased a bit more than a third of those losses this week.
The full Buffett interview
The entire 70-minute interview with Buffett is available in video form for CNBC Pro subscribers.
There is also audio of the entire conversation in this episode of “Squawk Pod.”
CNBC
