Warren Buffett steps away from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Warren Buffett has announced that he will be stepping down as a trustee from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, saying that he has been an "inactive trustee" for years.

In his comments with the annual contribution of Berkshire Hathaway shares to five foundations, Buffett said: "For years I have been a trustee - an inactive trustee at that - of only one recipient of my funds, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. I am now resigning from that post, just as I have done at all corporate boards other than Berkshire's".

The news couldn't come at a worse time: Bill and Melinda Gates just announced their divorce, Jeffrey "I didn't kill myself" Epstein possibly blamed for their divorce, and now Warren Buffett distances himself from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

• Read more: Bill and Melinda Gates announce divorce after 27 years of marriage
• Read more: Melinda may have divorced Bill Gates over friendship Jeffrey Epstein

Buffett is giving away $4.1 billion of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shares to five different foundations, with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation previously being one of those five -- now finds itself on the outside of that. Buffett said: "Over many decades I have accumulated an almost incomprehensible sum simply by doing what I love to do. Compound interest, a long runway, wonderful associates and our incredible country have simply worked their magic".