Inside the over 30-year friendship of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, who didn't even want to meet at first but now have each other on speed dial (2024)

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Warren Buffett turned 92 on August 30th. Bill Gates marked the occasion by sharing a series of pictures of the two of them together. The photos highlighted a 32-year bromance between the two billionaires.

"Life is more fun when you have a friend like Warren," Gates tweeted.

—Bill Gates (@BillGates) August 30, 2022

Gates, 67, is the fourth-richest person in the world. He's the former CEO of Microsoft and the cofounder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Source: Bloomberg

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Buffett, 92, is the sixth-richest person in the world. He's a legendary investor and the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

Source: Bloomberg

Gates' and Buffett's friendship dates back to July 5, 1991. Gates' mother, Mary, had invited the late Meg Greenfield, a Washington Post editor, to her home. Greenfield was to bring her friend Buffett with her.

Source: Fortune, Business Insider

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Mary Gates pressed her son to join them — he didn't want to take the day off work. "What were he and I supposed to talk about, P/E ratios?" Gates later wrote. The only reason he decided to come was because Greenfield was also bringing the late Post publisher Katharine Graham and he was interested in the Post's history.

Source: Fortune, Business Insider

Buffett didn't particularly want to meet Gates, either. "While we're driving down there, I said, 'What the hell are we going to spend all day doing with these people? How long do we have to stay to be polite?" Buffett remembered years later.

Source: Business Insider,The Snowball

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To the surprise of both men, they hit it off. Gates recalls being impressed by the questions Buffett asked him, like, "If you were building IBM from scratch, how would it look different?" And Gates told Buffett to buy stock in Intel and Microsoft. It was the beginning of a deep friendship and a mutual mentorship.

Source: Fortune, Business Insider

Buffett has attended multiple Microsoft events, but he's never served on the company's board or invested in the tech company. In 2018, he said it would be a conflict of interest due to their close friendship.

Source: Insider

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However, Gates joined Berkshire Hathaway's board in 2004 after Buffett's first wife, Susan Thompson, died.

Source: Seattle Times

Shortly after they first met, Gates asked Buffett for his favorite business book recommendation. Buffett lent Gates his copy of "Business Adventures" by John Brooks. Today, it's Gates' favorite business book, too — and he still has Buffett's copy.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider

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Both credit their tremendous success to a laser focus. Gates has written that he's learned from Buffett how to manage his time by prioritizing certain people and tasks.

Source: LinkedIn, LinkedIn

They've often joined forces for political and philanthropic causes. In 2010, Gates and Buffett, along with Gates' then-wife, Melinda French Gates, started The Giving Pledge. Billionaires who sign up commit to giving away most of their wealth to charitable causes in their lifetimes or in their wills. To date, about $600 billion has been pledged.

Source: The Giving Pledge

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Gates also credits Buffett with inspiring him to found the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000.

In fact, Buffett has given part of his fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation annually for years. In July, he donated $4 billion in Berkshire Hathaway stocks to the Gates Foundation and four other charities.

Source: CNBC

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Gates said Buffett's generosity moved him to tears.

"I'm grateful for Warren's gifts to support the foundation's work and for our many years of friendship," Gates tweeted in July. "When he decided in 2006 to make these gifts, it moved me to tears. It still does."

—Bill Gates (@BillGates) June 14, 2022

Buffett's contributions to Gates' foundation from 2006 through 2022 total $45 billion, when taking into account the appreciation of the Berkshire stock over time.

"I believe this is the largest gift ever given, and thinking about it fills me with awe and gratitude and a sense of responsibility to make sure it is spent well," Gates wrote in an post on his blog, Gates Notes, in December 2022. "Our secret weapon, which should not be secret at all, is the incredible generosity of Warren Buffett."

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In 2014, Gates and Buffett, along with Sheldon Adelson, published a New York Times op-ed pushing for immigration reform.

Source: New York Times

During the coronavirus pandemic, Buffett called Gates his "science advisor." In February 2020, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation pledged $100 million to fight COVID-19.

Source: Business Insider, CNBC

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In July 2020, Gates told Yahoo's Andy Serwer, "Warren and [Gates] are talking on a more regular basis than ever" about the economy and businesses during the pandemic. The same week, Buffett told Serwer that they schedule a weekly hour-long call but they usually exceed that time limit.

Source: Yahoo Finance

That same year, Gates resigned from his roles at Berkshire Hathaway and Microsoft. The billionaire said he made the move "to dedicate more time to philanthropic priorities."

Source: Insider

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In 2021, Gates and his wife divorced after 27 years of marriage. Meanwhile, Buffett resigned from the three-person board at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. "My goals are 100% in sync with those of the foundation, and my physical participation is in no way needed to achieve these goals," Buffett said at the time.

Source: Bloomberg

The friends not only have a long history, but they also have some unusual pastimes. For example, they have participated in a newspaper-tossing challenge at the annual Berkshire Hathaway meeting. The popular tradition is a nod to a gig Buffett had as a teenager delivering Washington Post newspapers.

Source: Business Insider, CNBC

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The two have also been known to play bridge together since they first met in the '90s.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

They've also been spotted together at many different types of sporting events, from equestrian cups to NBA matchups.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

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In 2017, they learned that they like trying out mattresses together.

Source: Business Insider

Gates has said Buffett's number is one of just two he had on speed dial at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. His home phone occupied the other spot.

Source: Gates Notes

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The friendship has had a big impact on both men. In 2016, Gates wrote that "Warren has helped us [Bill and Melinda] do two things that are impossible to overdo in one lifetime: learn more and laugh more."

Source: Gates Notes

In a August 2020 blog post dedicated to Buffett's 90th birthday, Gates wrote that Buffett has "a phenomenal eye for talent" and "works incredibly hard" while leaving room for life outside the board room. "Of all the things I've learned from Warren, the most important thing might be what friendship is all about," he added.

Source: Gates Notes