Billionaire Warren Buffett omitted the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from his annual charitable gifts this year, following the release of documents detailing Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’ associations with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Instead, Buffett announced roughly $6 billion in donations to four foundations run by his own family. In a CNBC interview, Buffett said he finds it astonishing that anyone could be as effective a deceiver as Epstein, noting the financier exploited others’ vulnerabilities. Gates has denied knowing about Epstein’s crimes and has not been accused of wrongdoing, though he appears in Justice Department files related to Epstein. The shift ends a long philanthropic partnership and reflects the fallout from Epstein’s ties, which have reportedly strained the former close friendship between the two billionaires.