Bill Gates became a director of Berkshire Hathaway in 2004.
Warren Buffett appointed Gates to Berkshire Hathaway’s board in 2004. Gates and Buffett had already developed a close friendship and shared an interest in philanthropy, business, and encouraging wealthy people to give substantial portions of their fortunes to charity.
Berkshire Hathaway is a diversified holding company with major businesses and investments across insurance, railroads, utilities, manufacturing, and consumer products. Gates’s directorship was separate from his Microsoft position and from his work at the Gates Foundation.
Gates resigned from Berkshire Hathaway’s board in 2020. The timing is sometimes confused with his later decision to leave other corporate boards, including Microsoft’s board in 2020. His Berkshire appointment in 2004 therefore belongs to an earlier period when he was still deeply involved in both Microsoft and philanthropy.