July 15 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett said he found fellow billionaire Bill Gates' relationship with the late, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein "disgusting," and that he had decided to stop donating to the Gates Foundation because his children were growing up and ready to distribute his wealth.

"I tell my three sons that (this wealth) belongs to them, and it is their responsibility to manage it well," Buffett added in excerpts from an interview with CNBC on Wednesday.

These remarks were broadcast one day after the 95-year-old chairman of Berkshire Hathaway excluded the Gates Foundation from his semi-annual charitable donations, when he donated nearly $6 billion worth of shares in his investment group.

Buffett has donated more than $47 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway stock to the Gates Foundation since 2006.

His final donation, consisting of 12 million Class B shares, will instead go to four charitable foundations overseen by his children, Susie, Howard, and Peter.

Following these donations, Buffett will have donated more than $23 billion worth of Berkshire shares since 2006 to the Susan Thompson Buffett, Sherwood, Howard G. Buffett and Novo Foundations.

Buffett: Gates "made mistakes"

Buffett said that Gates, an old friend who also served as a director at Berkshire for 16 years, visited him in Omaha three weeks ago.

This meeting came after the US Department of Justice released files in February about Gates' relationship with Epstein, including those related to his philanthropic work.

Gates also met with members of Congress last month regarding this financier. He has repeatedly expressed regret for any association with Epstein, and no criminal charges have been filed against him.

Buffett said, "Although it's disgusting, and although I made mistakes, I made mistakes by hiring different people or by choosing friends who I later discovered, in one way or another, were not up to my standards."

However, Buffett described the donation to the Gates Foundation as "a good decision" and expressed no regrets about his relationship with Bill Gates.

Buffett said, "We've had countless happy times together. It's been a wonderful friendship."

Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019, following his arrest on sex trafficking charges. The New York City medical examiner ruled the death a suicide.

*Mental abilities?

Buffett accelerated his announcement Tuesday of the timeline for distributing his remaining shares in Berkshire Hathaway, which represent a stake of nearly 13 percent in the $1.06 trillion conglomerate.

Buffett now wants to distribute shares by the end of 2034, rather than 10 years after his death. He cited his children's advancing age; his eldest daughter, Suzy Buffett, will be 81 by the end of 2034.

"I've completely reassessed my situation," Buffett told CNBC. "It's not just about dying, it's about maintaining mental capabilities."