Adds statement from Bill Gates, paragraphs 14-15

By Jonathan Stempel

July 15 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett said he found fellow billionaire Bill Gates’ association with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein “distasteful,” but decided to stop donating to the Gates Foundation because his children were getting older and were ready to distribute his wealth.

“I tell the three children that it is theirs, and it’s their responsibility to get it done well," Buffett said in interview excerpts on CNBC on Wednesday.

The comments were broadcast one day after the 95-year-old Berkshire Hathaway BRKa.N chairman omitted the Gates Foundation from his annual midyear charitable donations, which included nearly $6 billion of his conglomerate's stock.

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

His latest donation comprising 12 million Class B shares is instead going to four foundations led by his children Susie, Howard and Peter.

Following the donations, Buffett will have since 2006 donated more than $23 billion of Berkshire stock to the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, Sherwood Foundation, Howard G. Buffett Foundation and NoVo Foundation.

BUFFETT SAYS GATES 'MADE MISTAKES'

Buffett said Gates, a longtime friend who was also a Berkshire director for 16 years, visited him in Omaha three weeks ago.

That meeting followed the U.S. Department of Justice's release in February of files about Gates' relationship with Epstein, including efforts at philanthropy. Gates also met with Congress last month about the financier.

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

Gates has repeatedly expressed regret for having anything to do with Epstein, and has not been accused of crimes.

"While it’s distasteful, while he made mistakes, I made mistakes in hiring all kinds of people, or choosing friends, and then finding out later that one way or other they weren’t what I thought," Buffett said.

BUFFETT, GATES EXTOL FRIENDSHIP

Buffett nonetheless called donating to the Gates Foundation a "good decision" and expressed no regrets for his relationship with Gates.

"We have had [an] enormous number of good times together," Buffett said. "It has been a wonderful friendship."

In a statement on Wednesday, Gates called Buffett a "dear friend" whose financial support for the foundation has helped save millions of lives.

"My gratitude to Warren is immeasurable, and I cherish the time we spend together," Gates said. "I hope we have much more of it.”

In Tuesday's announcement, Buffett also accelerated the timetable to distribute his remaining Berkshire shares, which represent an approximately 13% stake in the $1.06 trillion conglomerate.

Buffett now wants the shares distributed by the end of 2034, rather than 10 years after his death, noting his children's advancing ages. Susie Buffett, the oldest, will be 81 by the end of 2034.

“I reevaluated my whole situation,” Buffett said on CNBC. “It's not just a question of mortality. It's a question of keeping your marbles."