"I think I was quite stupid" - Bill Gates addresses his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein

Tech mogul Bill Gates addressed his friendship with convicted s*x offender Jeffrey Epstein. In a wide-ranging interview with The Wall Street Journal, published on Friday, January 24, 2025, the former Microsoft CEO spoke about his meeting with Epstein, saying,

"In retrospect, I was foolish to spend any time with him. And he, sort of, got time with various people by spending time with other people," adding, "I think I was quite stupid. I thought it would help me with global health philanthropy. In fact, it failed to do that it was just a huge mistake."

For the unversed, Epstein was a financier. In 2005, authorities began investigating him after a parent reported he had s*xually abused their 14-year-old daughter. Three years later he pleaded guilty and was convicted of hiring a child for pr*stitution and soliciting a pr*stitute. He served thirteen months in prison.

In July 2019, federal officials arrested him on charges of s*x trafficking of minors. Epstein eventually died by s*icide while incarcerated in August of the same year. Around that time, Bill Gates' association with the financier came under scrutiny.

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Melinda French Gates cited Bill Gates' association with Jeffrey Epstein as one of the reasons for their divorce

In his interview, Bill Gates explained that the controversies surrounding Jeffery Epstein and him made him weary of making new connections.

In 2022, Gates' ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, cited her husband's connection with Epstein as one of the factors in their divorce. During her March 2022 appearance on CBS Mornings, Melinda revealed they separated over "many things," including Gates and Epstein's association. She told host Gayle King:

I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, no. I made that clear to him."

Melinda explained she only met the financier once because she wanted to see who he was, but "regretted it" the second she walked into the meeting. Calling Epstein "abhorrent" and "evil personified," she added:

"My heart breaks for these women."

Back in 2023, WSJ reported on their association, alleging that Epstein once threatened to expose Gates' alleged affair with Russian bridge player Mila Antonova. Per the publication, the financier had failed to get Bill Gates to join a multibillion-dollar charitable fund with JPMorgan Chase (the fund was never realized).

At the time, Epstein reportedly sent an email to Gates asking to be reimbursed for money that he spent to send Antonova to software coding school. Per WSJ, the financier hinted that he would expose the alleged affair if Gates didn't maintain his association with Epstein.

In a statement made to People Magazine (at the time) Gates' then spokesperson said:

"Mr. Gates met with Epstein solely for philanthropic purposes. Having failed repeatedly to draw Mr. Gates beyond these matters, Epstein tried unsuccessfully to leverage a past relationship to threaten Mr. Gates."

The spokesperson elaborated that the two men never had any financial dealings, asserting that Gates thought it was a mistake ever meeting Epstein.

Last weekend, Bill Gates, in an interview with Times of London, confessed that his divorce with Melinda was "at the top of the list" of his failures. The former couple has maintained an amicable relationship since the divorce. Gates is currently in a relationship with Paula Hurd, while Melinda is dating entrepreneur Philip Vaughn.