A five-month independent review of the Gates Foundation's ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein found that Bill Gates ignored repeated employee warnings to stay away, and the review never even examined his personal emails. Law firm WilmerHale, hired by the foundation itself, interviewed more than 50 current and former staffers and concluded that Gates […] The post Bill Gates brushed off staff warnings about Epstein for years, outside review confirms appeared first on American Almanac .
A five-month independent review of the Gates Foundation's ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein found that Bill Gates ignored repeated employee warnings to stay away, and the review never even examined his personal emails. Law firm WilmerHale, hired by the foundation itself, interviewed more than 50 current and former staffers and concluded that Gates and his team held roughly 30 meetings with Epstein between 2011 and 2014. Foundation employees flagged the reputational danger of associating with a man who had pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor in Florida. Those concerns, the review's executive summary states, "were raised to senior leadership, including Mr. Gates." He kept the meetings going anyway. The…Open
The Oracle of Omaha is concerned that America has a gambling problem. Why it matters: Warren Buffett recently retired from Berkshire Hathaway, but when he speaks, investors still listen. Driving the news: Buffett articulated his concerns about America's gambling culture in an interview with CNBC , saying speculative trading is undermining long-term investing. - "It's tough to find values when everybody is preferring gambling," he said. - He added: "Since humans love to gamble so much, there's more money in, in actually cultivating gamblers than there are cultivating investors." The big picture: Buffett's comments come amid the rise of prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, which are giving investors the ability to risk money…
Alphabet said Monday it plans to raise up to $80 billion in equity to help fund its AI ambitions, which includes a $10 billion investment from Berkshire Hathaway via a private deal. Why it matters: One of the world's biggest companies, which has had historically high cash flow, is seeking more cash to stay in the AI race. Driving the news: Alphabet said the proceeds will support "capital expenditures to scale AI infrastructure and global compute" amid "unprecedented customer demand." The financing includes: - $30 billion in underwritten public offerings, split between mandatory convertible preferred stock and common stock. - $40 billion through an at-the-market stock offering program expected to begin in Q3. - $10 billion from Berkshire…
In his first report as C.E.O., Gregory Abel, stuck to a straight commentary rather than Warren Buffett’s folksy tone. The lower earnings were largely driven by declines in the insurance business.