• The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, stripping back abortion rights nationally.
  • Billionaires including Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and George Soros tweeted their opposition. 
  • Warren Buffett could huge sums to a foundation funding abortion rights: The Wall Street Journal.

Some of America's most prominent billionaires have denounced the overturning of Roe v. Wade, as Warren Buffett reportedly sets in motion plans for big donations to reproductive rights.

Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and George Soros all tweeted their opposition to the Supreme Court decision to roll back abortion rights nationally, overturning a near-50-year precedent. Abortion was automatically banned in 13 states that have trigger laws, while others are expected to follow.

Bill Gates tweeted: "This is a sad day. Reversing Roe v. Wade is an unjust and unacceptable setback. And it puts women's lives at risk, especially the most disadvantaged."

Gates' ex-wife French Gates, who shares the Gates foundation with the Microsoft co-founder, tweeted: "Today, a government in which women have never had an equal voice reached deep into the most private corners of a woman's life to tell her the choice over what she does with her body is no longer her own. This is America taking a big step backward."

She added: "But one court decision was never going to be enough to protect women's equality. And it will not be enough to dismantle it either. Right now, there are people all over the U.S. who are recommitting to the work ahead."

George Soros, who according to the Bloomberg Billionaires' Index is worth $8.5 billion said: "The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn #RoeVWade ends federal protections for abortion, diminishes human rights, and greatly threatens reproductive care. We have invested in reproductive rights organizations that are fighting back at this moment." 

Other billionaires have joined Soros - who has significantly more wealth tied up in his Open Society foundations - in investing heavily in access to abortion prior to the Supreme Court's decision.

Jeff Bezos' ex-wife MacKenzie Scott has been another proponent of reproductive rights, and donated a record $275 million to Planned Parenthood last year. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has planned to invest $1 billion in family planning by 2030.

But a reported windfall from Warren Buffett - worth $97 billion - could pump tens of billions of dollars into the ongoing battle. In 2006, Buffett pledged to donate 85% of his shares in Berkshire Hathaway to charity. Most of that has gone to the Gates Foundation. 

But according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation – named after Buffett's late wife – is preparing for a huge windfall.

According to tax filings, the bulk of the Buffett Foundation's funds have gone to abortion and reproductive rights. The Wall Street Journal reported that Buffett could donate in excess of $70 billion to his late wife's foundation, according to filings the paper reviewed.

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