Warren Buffett and Bill Gates Were Close, Until the Epstein Files Were Released

Since the release of the Epstein files, many prestigious and wealthy individuals have been cast in a very different light than before. Bill Gates is one of them. The documents revealed that Gates and Jeffrey Epstein became friends three years after the late, disgraced financier pleaded guilty in a Florida state court to charges involving underage girls and prostitution, per CNBC.

It was shocking to learn that someone like Gates would have fraternized with Epstein, but even more information has come out that’s made people side-eye him even harder. One person who has chosen to distance himself from the Microsoft founder since this information came to light is his longtime friend Warren Buffett.

That’s right, Gates and Buffett are friends. Want to know the extent of their relationship? Keep scrolling!

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are friends, and you could say they have a pretty close relationship. So much so that Buffett has supported causes tied directly to Gates, including donating more than $43 billion since 2006 to the Gates Foundation, which was founded by Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda Gates, according to CNBC.

That’s a lot of money to hand over to someone else’s philanthropic organization, no matter how much you support its initiatives. But the extent of their work together doesn’t end there.

Buffett and Gates also established The Giving Pledge in 2010, a year before Gates became friends with Epstein in 2011.

The initiative is widely recognized as a place where the world’s wealthiest philanthropists pledge to donate much of their wealth to charitable causes. The organization has attracted more than “250 of the world’s wealthiest philanthropists from 30 countries” since launching, per its official website, with MacKenzie Scott, Jeff Bezos’s ex-wife, among its members (Bezos himself has yet to join).

Those who become a member of the Giving Pledge make a public commitment to give away the majority of their wealth to various causes or support initiatives centered around specific issues, and they often come together to discuss and share their efforts. So there’s a good chance Gates and Buffett cross paths often given their ties to the organization.

While Buffett generally has nothing but nice things to say about Gates, and for good reason, considering his impact and philanthropic contributions, he decided to put some distance between them after the Epstein files were released. During an interview on Squawk Box at the end of March 2026, per CNBC, Buffett revealed, “I haven’t talked to him at all since the whole thing was unveiled.”

Because not only did it come to light that Gates had formed a friendship with Epstein after he issued his guilty plea, but reports also surfaced that Gates had admitted to having two affairs with Russian women, according to The Wall Street Journal. Epstein had reportedly learned of those relationships, though Gates clarified they did not involve any of Epstein’s victims and stated that he “did nothing illicit” and “saw nothing illicit.”

He also called his spending time with Epstein “foolish” and a “huge mistake.” Still, in an effort to protect himself, Buffett said he has avoided speaking with Gates since the files were released because he doesn’t “want to be in a position where I know things … to be called as a witness.”

So you could still call them friends, but clearly Buffett isn’t willing to let their close relationship interfere with his reputation.