New Delhi, July 15 -- Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has excluded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation from his annual charitable donations for the first time in nearly two decades, announcing about $6 billion in gifts to four foundations linked to his family instead. This came reportedly after disclosures surrounding Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates' past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Since pledging in 2006 to give away most of his fortune, Buffett has donated more than $61 billion to the Gates Foundation, making it the largest recipient of his charitable giving.

Instead, Buffett said he would donate around $4.5 billion in Berkshire Hathaway shares to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and roughly $500 ...