Known as the Oracle of Omaha, Buffett, 94, is considered one of the most successful American investors of all time, as per Forbes.
The businessman, who served as Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO for 55 years, previously promised to give away 99 percent of his wealth, with more than $43 billion being donated to the Gates Foundation, the charity set up by Bill Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda, in 2000.
Now, it has emerged that Buffett and Gates, 70 - who had been friends for more than three decades - apparently have not been on speaking terms ‘since the whole thing’ with the Epstein files ‘was unveiled’, the former stated in a new interview.
Documents released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in January alleged that Gates had caught STDs from Russian girls, as per a draft email that the late Jeffrey Epstein wrote in 2013.
The pages also included correspondence between Gates and Epstein about philanthropic projects.
The tech mogul addressed the claims in an interview with Australian outlet WHAS11 news, alleging Epstein’s email was ‘false’ and that it was ‘never sent’.
"Apparently, Jeffrey wrote an email to himself… I don’t know what his thinking was there. Was he trying to attack me in some way?"
He said that he regretted ‘every minute’ spent with the convicted sex offender and insisted that he never visited Epstein’s infamous island.
Gates later apologised to staff for his links to Epstein, admitted during a meeting that he had affairs with two Russian women, and said he ‘never spent any time’ with victims.
Speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Buffett said he hadn’t spoken to his friend since the allegations made in the files were released to the public.
The father-of-three confessed: “I don’t want to be in a position where I know things... to be called as a witness.”
Buffett said that until Gates’ affiliation with Epstein was totally ‘cleared up’, it didn’t ‘make sense to do a lot of talking’.
“I don’t want to be under oath,” he claimed.
Elsewhere in the interview, the philanthropist called Epstein a ‘con man’.
“It is astounding to me that anyone could be that successful as a con man,” he quipped.
“Men are going to like sex... and some of them are going to like not paying taxes, and he figured out their weaknesses.
“That guy must have been the con man of all time. He had a way of conning everybody.”
Buffett, who officially made way at Berkshire Hathaway for current Greg Abel earlier this year, added that he was grateful that Gates never invited him to New York to meet the disgraced financier, who died by suicide while awaiting trial in 2019.
“I got him to thank for not doing that,” he claimed. “But you can’t get away from what happened either.”
In a letter obtained by CBNC, Buffett opened up on why he planned to give away most of his fortune, rather than leave it for future generations.
“I never wished to create a dynasty or pursue any plan that extended beyond the children,” he wrote. “I know the three well and trust them completely. Future generations are another matter.
“Who can foresee the priorities, intelligence and fidelity of successive generations to deal with the distribution of extraordinary wealth amid what may be a far different philanthropic landscape?”
Topics: Bill Gates, US News, Jeffrey Epstein, News, Celebrity
