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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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Bill Gates has admitted to having affairs and apologized for his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a town hall meeting with employees of the Gates Foundation, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Microsoft co-founder acknowledged he had two affairs with Russian women that Epstein later discovered, but he said they didn't involve Epstein's victims, the Journal reported, citing a recording of the meeting it had reviewed.
Gates said it was a "huge mistake" to spend time with Epstein and bring executives from the foundation into meetings with Epstein. According to the Journal, he also said: "I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit."
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"I apologize to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made," he continued.
A spokesperson for the Gates Foundation told Newsweek in a statement on Wednesday that Gates "spoke candidly" as he answered several questions submitted by staff on issues, including the release of the Epstein files, during the meeting and "took responsibility for his actions" over his ties to Epstein.
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Why It Matters
The Department of Justice has released millions of pages of documents in the latest disclosure of records from its investigative files on Epstein, which provided more details about his alleged interactions with high-profile figures, including Gates. The inclusion of someone's name or image in the files related to Epstein does not imply wrongdoing.
The files included claims that Gates had contracted a sexually transmitted disease, which he denied as "absolutely absurd and completely false." Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, divorced in 2021 after 27 years of marriage. After their split, he acknowledged an affair with an employee.
What To Know
According to the Journal, Gates said in the town hall that he had an affair with a Russian bridge player and another with a Russian nuclear physicist who worked at one of his companies.
He said his former science adviser Boris Nikolic was aware of the affairs and told Epstein about them. The Journal reported in 2023 that Epstein appeared to use the knowledge of Gates' affair with the Russian bridge player to threaten him.
During the town hall, Gates also said photos in the Epstein files that showed him with women whose faces were redacted were photos that Epstein requested he take with Epstein's assistants after their meetings. Gates said, "To be clear I never spent any time with victims."
Gates said he began meeting with Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 of soliciting prostitution from a minor, in 2011.
He said he continued meeting with Epstein even after French Gates had raised concerns about it in 2013, saying she was "always kind of skeptical" about Epstein.
Gates said his meetings with Epstein continued through 2014; that he spent time with Epstein in Germany, France and the United States; and that they also flew on a private jet together. He said he never stayed overnight or visited Epstein's private island.
Epstein, Gates said, had portrayed himself as someone with intimate ties with numerous billionaires and as someone who could help raise money for causes including global health.
He also acknowledged that his association with Epstein helped burnish Epstein's reputation and had harmed the reputation of the Gates Foundation.
"It definitely is the opposite of the values of the Foundation and the goals of the Foundation," he said. "And our work is very reputational sensitive."
What People Are Saying
The Gates Foundation said in a statement to Newsweek: "This was a scheduled townhall with employees, which Bill does twice a year. In the conversation, Bill answered questions submitted by foundation staff on a range of issues, including the release of the Epstein files, the foundation's work in AI, and the future of global health. In the townhall, Bill spoke candidly, addressing several questions in detail, and took responsibility for his actions."
Bill Gates told The Wall Street Journal in January 2025: "In retrospect, I was foolish to spend any time with him. … Yes, I think I was quite stupid. I thought it would help me with global health philanthropy. In fact, it failed to do that, and it was just a huge mistake."
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