Topics: Jeffrey Epstein, Crime, News, Celebrity, US News, World News
Bill Gates has reportedly spoken out about his appearance in the Epstein files, admitting infidelity and apologising to his staff at the Gates Foundation.
According to a new report by the Wall Street Journal, the Microsoft co-founder, 70, acknowledged that he had two affairs with Russian women during a town hall meeting on Monday (23 February).
It comes after documents in the most recently-released batch of files relating to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein alleged that Gates had 'caught a sexually transmitted disease' after sleeping with 'Russian girls'.
In one document released by the US Department of Justice on 30 January, Epstein wrote a memo in which he alleged that Gates had asked for antibiotics to 'surreptitiously give' to his now ex-wife Melinda.
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An email dated 18 July, 2013 saw Epstein write: "To add insult to the injury you them [sic] implore me to please delete the emails regarding your std, your request that I provide you antibiotics that you can surreptitiously give to Melinda and the description of your penis."
In a separate email, he added: "From helping Bill to get drugs, in order to deal with consequences of sex with russian girls, to facilitating his illicit trysts, with married women, to being asked to provide adderall fro [sic] bridge tournaments."
Now, Gates has allegedly claimed that his actions didn’t involve Epstein’s victims, he didn’t participate in any crimes, and he 'did nothing illicit'.
Gates explained that he had affairs, and Epstein later discovered this information, with him reportedly telling staff: "I did have affairs, one with a Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist who I met through business activities."
According to a recording reviewed by the publication, the billionaire said: “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit. To be clear, I never spent any time with victims, the women around him."
He claimed that the images in the recently released Epstein files that show him with women whose faces are redacted were simply pictures that Epstein asked him to take with the financier's assistants after their meetings.
Gates reportedly admitted that it 'was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein' and bring Gates Foundation executives into meetings with him.
"I apologise to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made," the businessman said.
The publication reports that Gates said he met with Epstein in 2011, which was years after the criminal had pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution.
According to the WSJ, Gates said he was aware of some '18-month thing' that had limited Epstein’s travel but hadn't properly checked his background and continued meeting with Epstein, even after his then-wife, Melinda, expressed her concerns in 2013.
He told staff: “Knowing what I know now makes it, you know, a hundred times worse in terms of not only his crimes in the past, but now it’s clear there was ongoing bad behaviour," adding of his ex-wife: "To give her credit, she was always kind of sceptical about the Epstein thing."
Gates clarified that he never stayed overnight or visited Epstein's island, but continued meeting him throughout 2024.
The Microsoft co-founder said that because other high-profile people were at these meetings, it made it easier for him 'to feel like this was a normalized situation'.
Gates explained that the financier 'talked about the kind of intimate relationship he had with a lot of billionaires, particularly Wall Street billionaires,' and said that he could help raise money for causes like global health.
Tyla has contacted a representative for Gates for comment.
