Warren Buffett resigns from Gates Foundation
Source: AP
By HALELUYA HADERO
NEW YORK (AP) — Warren Buffett resigned Wednesday as trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which says it will announce plans in July to answer questions raised about its leadership structure as it deals with the divorce of its two founders.
The announcement from Buffett comes weeks after Bill and Melinda Gates revealed that they were divorcing after 27 years of marriage but would continue to jointly run the foundation, one of the largest charitable foundations in the world. Buffett is one of three members of the foundation’s board, the others are Bill and Melinda Gates.
“For years I have been a trustee – an inactive trustee at that – of only one recipient of my funds, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMG). I am now resigning from that post, just as I have done at all corporate boards other than Berkshire’s,” Buffett said in a prepared statement Wednesday. “The CEO of BMG is Mark Suzman, an outstanding recent selection who has my full support. My goals are 100% in sync with those of the foundation, and my physical participation is in no way needed to achieve these goals.”
Buffett, the chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway, also said Wednesday that he is halfway to reaching his goal of giving away the entirety of his shares in the conglomerate and that he’s donating another $4.1 billion in shares to five foundations. More than $3.2 billion went to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, bringing his total giving to the foundation to nearly $33 billion, Suzman said in a statement.
FILE - In this May 5, 2019, file photo Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, smiles as he plays bridge following the annual Berkshire Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha, Neb. Warren Buffett made a $4.1 billion annual philanthropic contribution and said he’s halfway through his goal of giving away most of his money. The billionaire investor also said he is stepping down as trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as he exits all other corporate boards. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)
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