Billionaire Investor Warren Buffett Resigns From Gates Foundation, Makes Heavy Donation

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett announced he is stepping down from his role with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, just weeks after its founders announced their divorce.

The 90-year-old Berkshire Hathaway founder said in a statement that he has been an "inactive" trustee of the organization, raising new questions about the future of the foundation. Buffett was one of three members of the foundation’s board; the other two are Bill and Melinda Gates.

He did not explain why he is resigning, while noting he has given up all directorships outside Berkshire, reducing his workload.

Buffett also announced a new donation of more than $4.1 billion, comprising nearly 15.2 million Berkshire Class "B" shares, to the Gates Foundation and four family charities, part of his pledge to give away 99% of his net worth.

Mr. Buffett had been a huge contributor to the Gates Foundation, one of the foremost and richest nonprofit organizations dedicated to social causes, for more than a decade. It is one of five nonprofit organizations to which he has pledged the majority of his fortune, which Forbes estimates at $105.3 billion, and it is the only one not run by a member of the Buffett family.

Bill and Melinda Gates received more than $3.2 billion, bringing his total giving to the foundation to nearly $33 billion, BMG CEO Mark Suzman said in a statement.

"I know Warren's departure raises questions about the foundation's governance," Suzman said, adding he has been "actively discussing with him, Bill, and Melinda approaches to strengthen our governance to provide long-term stability and sustainability for the foundation's governance and decision-making in light of the recent announcement of Bill and Melinda's divorce. I plan to share additional information in July."

Buffett, now 90, has in recent years resigned from all other corporate boards outside of Berkshire Hathaway, but he has said he has no plans to step down from his role as CEO of Berkshire. Earlier this year, Berkshire identified the executive who will one day take over as the company’s CEO when Buffett is gone, but he isn’t retiring.

Buffett said Wednesday that while he still loves his job, “I’m clearly playing in a game that, for me, has moved past the fourth quarter and into overtime.”