Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, acknowledged during a town hall with foundation staff on Tuesday that he had two extramarital affairs with Russian women while married to Melinda French Gates, but he denied any involvement in criminal activity related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The remarks were reported by The Wall Street Journal and confirmed by multiple news outlets.
Mr. Gates described his past connection with Epstein as a “huge mistake” and apologized to foundation employees for the reputational harm it has caused. He maintained that his interactions with Epstein were aimed at philanthropic fundraising and did not involve any illicit conduct or contact with Epstein’s victims.
At the meeting, Mr. Gates confirmed that the affairs — one with a Russian bridge player he met at events and another with a Russian nuclear physicist he met through business activities — occurred during his marriage to Ms. Gates but stressed that neither woman was connected to Epstein’s known victims.
The town hall took place amid heightened scrutiny following the release of millions of pages of documents by the U.S. Department of Justice under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. While the released files include draft emails and other materials linked to Epstein, many entries contain unverified allegations rather than proven facts. Although some documents reference Mr. Gates and sensational claims, Mr. Gates’ representatives have strongly denied those specific claims as false and defamatory.
Mr. Gates said he first met Epstein in 2011, after Epstein had already been convicted in Florida for soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008, and admitted he should have done more due diligence before engaging with him. He also acknowledged that Ms. Gates had expressed concern about the relationship early on, and that his association with Epstein persisted longer than it should have.
A spokesperson for the Gates Foundation said in a statement that Mr. Gates spoke candidly, addressed employee questions in detail and took responsibility for his actions. The foundation also reiterated that no funds were paid to Epstein and no formal philanthropic collaboration was established with him.
Mr. Gates reiterated at the meeting that, in his view, he never saw or participated in anything illicit in his interactions with Epstein, and he never spent time with Epstein’s victims. He apologized to foundation staff, saying the association with Epstein was contrary to the “values of the foundation and the goals of the foundation.”
The release of the Epstein files has had broader fallout. For example, Dr. Peter Attia resigned as a CBS News contributor after emails involving him and Epstein were made public, and he described some of the correspondence as “embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible.”
This article is written with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence based solely on Washington Times original reporting and wire services. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Steve Fink, Director of Artificial Intelligence, at sfink@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
