Warren Buffett resigns from Gates Foundation board
23 June 2021
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — the second-largest philanthropy in the world — is now governed by just two trustees, after Warren Buffett announced on Wednesday that he had resigned his position there.
Why it matters: The two remaining trustees, Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, are going through a divorce.
Where it stands: In his announcement, Gates said that "my goals are 100% in sync with those of the foundation," and that the foundation's new CEO, Mark Suzman, was "an outstanding recent selection who has my full support." He gave no indication that his schedule of large annual donations to the Foundation would change in any way.
- Buffett said he's 50% towards his goal of giving away all of his Berkshire Hathaway shares to charity, following his latest $4.1 billion distribution. Under the terms of his pledge, five sixths of those shares are given in annual installments to the Gates Foundation, which then has one year to sell the shares and spend all of the proceeds.
- After the Gateses announced their divorce, the Wall Street Journal reported that they were considering bringing more accountability and transparency to the foundation by expanding the board and appointing outside directors.
The bottom line: The future of the Gates Foundation has been unclear since the principals' divorce was announced. Today's announcement from Buffett — who admits that his trusteeship has been "inactive" — does nothing to clear up the uncertainty, but is consistent with a plan to keep the foundation largely intact while beefing up its governance.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.