Bill Gates has apologised to staff of his foundation for his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, admitting that it was a “huge mistake” to spend time with the financier. At a town hall meeting on Tuesday, the Microsoft co-founder denied any involvement in Epstein’s crimes but acknowledged two affairs.
Speaking to employees of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates said he regretted bringing foundation executives to meetings with Epstein. “I apologise to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made,” he told staff, according to a recording reviewed by the Wall Street Journal.
Gates’s relationship with Epstein has come under renewed scrutiny after the release of justice department files containing emails in which Epstein claimed Gates had contracted a sexually transmitted infection and requested antibiotics for his then-wife, Melinda. Gates has denied this allegation. He also said that Epstein had asked him to take photos with women whose faces were later redacted in the files.
During the town hall, Gates revealed that he had an affair with a Russian bridge player and another with a Russian nuclear physicist. The Journal reported in 2023 that Epstein had tried to extort Gates over the affair with bridge player Mila Antonova after failing to persuade him to join a multibillion-dollar charity fund. Epstein’s tone suggested he knew about the affair and could expose it.
Gates said that the relationship with Epstein was “the opposite of the values of the foundation” and acknowledged that the foundation’s work is reputationally sensitive. He began meeting Epstein in 2011, despite Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor. Gates admitted he had not properly checked Epstein’s background at the time.
