Warren Buffett Defends Bill Gates Despite Calling Jeffrey Epstein Ties 'Distasteful': 'Nothing Beyond What I Could Picture Myself Doing'

Warren Buffett is standing by longtime friend Bill Gates despite calling the Microsoft co-founder's association with late convicted s-- offender Jeffrey Epstein "distasteful."

The Berkshire Hathaway chairman addressed Gates' past relationship with Epstein in a new interview with CNBC.

Speaking during an interview with CNBC's Becky Quick, Buffett said he carefully considered Gates' past dealings with Epstein before changing the structure of his philanthropy.

"I read a great deal since Jan. 1 in terms of what happened, with Bill and Epstein," Buffett said. "While it's distasteful, while he made mistakes, I made mistakes, hiring all kinds of people, or choosing friends, and then finding out later that, one way or other, they weren't what I thought they were."

"I found nothing in there that was beyond what I could picture myself doing," Buffett explained.

For years, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation received the largest share of Buffett's annual Berkshire Hathaway stock donations.

Since 2006, he has donated more than $47 billion in Berkshire shares to the charitable organization founded by Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda.

This year, however, Buffett directed all of his charitable gifts to four foundations connected to his family instead.

The 95-year-old investor said the shift was part of a broader reevaluation of his estate plans, rather than solely a response to Gates' association with Epstein.

"I reevaluated my whole situation," Buffett said. "What happened was that I gave the Gates Foundation a great deal of money. I thought that was a good decision. I think it was a decent decision, but I did not think my kids were in any way ready to give away vast sums of money."

Despite the change in his charitable giving, Buffett made it clear that he and Gates remain close friends.

"He came by Omaha three weeks ago. I kind of lose track of time, but certainly not three months, and we spent three hours talking together," Buffett shared. "He intends to call me...He already proposed another meeting."

Buffett also revealed that he has spent decades preparing his three children to oversee his fortune after his death.

"I tell the three children that it is theirs, and it's their responsibility to get it done well," he said.

Earlier this week, Buffett announced his intention to dispose of all of his Berkshire Hathaway shares over roughly the next eight years.

As part of this year's charitable giving, he donated approximately $4.5 billion in Berkshire stock to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, named after his late first wife, while three additional family-run foundations each received stock valued at just under $500 million.