Bill Gates town hall: bill gates 'took responsibility' over Epstein ties and apologised to staff
bill gates addressed staff at a scheduled town hall, taking responsibility for his interactions with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and apologising to employees — remarks that come as files released by the US Department of Justice in January have renewed scrutiny of his relationship with Epstein.
Bill Gates spoke at a scheduled twice-yearly foundation town hall
The Gates Foundation said the meeting was a scheduled town hall that Bill holds twice a year. A foundation spokesperson said Bill spoke candidly, answered questions submitted by staff in detail and took responsibility for his actions. Staff questions covered the release of the Epstein files, the foundation's work in AI and the future of global health. A recording of his remarks was reviewed.
Apology, admissions of affairs and denials of illicit behaviour
Gates apologised to foundation staff and said, "I apologise to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made. " He admitted to two affairs with Russian women — describing one as a Russian bridge player who met him at bridge events and another as a Russian nuclear physicist he met through business activities — but said he did nothing illicit, saying, "I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit. " He also said he never spent any time with victims, "the women around him, " and that the relationship with Epstein was the opposite of the values and goals of the Foundation and damaging to its reputation. The Microsoft co-founder, 70, has not been accused of wrongdoing by any of Epstein's victims.
When and how Gates met Jeffrey Epstein
Gates told staff he first met Epstein in 2011, years after Epstein had pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution. Gates said he was aware of an "18-month thing" that limited Epstein's travel but that he did not properly check Epstein's background. He said he continued to meet Epstein through 2014, that he spent time with Epstein abroad, and that he "never stayed overnight" or visited Epstein's island. Gates said it was a "huge mistake to spend time with Epstein" and that bringing foundation executives to meetings with Epstein was a mistake.
Files, images and an alleged extortion attempt
The release of files has included images of Gates with women whose faces are redacted; Gates said those were pictures Epstein asked him to take with his assistants after meetings. An image from the Epstein files was released by the US House Oversight Committee in December last year. The files also contained emails in which Epstein wrote that Gates had contracted a sexually transmitted infection and requested antibiotics to give to his then-wife; Gates denied that allegation. Reporting that emerged in 2023 said Epstein had tried to extort Gates over an alleged affair with the bridge player Mila Antonova after he could not persuade Gates to join a multibillion charity fund Epstein tried to establish, and that the tone of the message was that Epstein knew about the affair and could expose it.
Money, other attendees and personal fallout
Gates said Epstein told him he had links with other billionaires and suggested he could help raise money for charitable causes Gates was involved with; Gates noted Epstein spoke about "intimate relationships" with a lot of billionaires, particularly Wall Street billionaires, and that the presence of other prestigious figures at meetings made it feel normalized. Gates established the philanthropic organisation with his then wife, Melinda French Gates; the pair divorced in 2021 after 27 years of marriage. Melinda told an NPR podcast earlier this month that the latest release of files had dredged up "painful times in my marriage. "
