Warren Buffett announces resignation as trustee of Gates Foundation, donates $4.1 billion

New York: Warren Buffett said Wednesday he is resigning as a trustee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation while making a $4.1 billion donation to the organisation as well as four others.The 90-year-old business magnate did not give a reason for the resignation, which comes about seven weeks after Bill and Melinda Gates announced their divorce.Buffet, whose wealth is currently estimated by Forbes at $104.4 billion, signaled continued support for the Gates Foundation in a statement."My goals are 100 percent in sync with those of the foundation, and my physical participation is in no way needed to achieve these goals," he said in a statement from his company, Berkshire Hathaway."For years I have been a trustee, an inactive trustee at that, of only one recipient of my funds," Buffett said. "I am now resigning from that post, just as I have done at all corporate boards other than Berkshire's."Buffett said his latest donations are in line with a 2006 pledge to distribute all of his Berkshire stock to philanthropy."With today's $4.1 billion distribution, I'm halfway there," Buffett said, adding that he now holds around 240,000 Berkshire shares worth about $100 billion.Berkshire Hathaway signaled in May that it plans to name Greg Abel as chief executive when Buffett, the conglomerate's longtime chief, eventually exits. But the firm has not given a timeframe for a transition.Scrutiny of Bill Gates has risen after the couple announced in early May they were divorcing after 27 years.Some have questioned Bill Gates' relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died by suicide while awaiting trial on trafficking charges.