Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has issued an apology for his historical ties to Jeffrey Epstein, admitting in a private address to employees at the Gates Foundation that he had two affairs with Russian women while married to his former wife, Melinda French Gates.
In the town hall meeting, Gates stated, “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit.” He clarified he never interacted with victims of Epstein’s crimes, noting he flew on a private plane with the financier and spent time with him in the U.S. and abroad following their 2011 first meeting—after Epstein’s Florida conviction for procuring children for prostitution.
Gates acknowledged the affairs: “I had affairs, one with a Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist I met through business activities.” His ex-wife filed for divorce in 2021 after their 27-year marriage ended.
The billionaire previously denied wrongdoing over Epstein connections but now admitted the affairs during his time with Melinda Gates. Separately, authorities revealed that a Seattle engineer employed at the Gates’ residence was charged with accumulating thousands of child exploitation images and trading such content via Gmail for years before police intervened in March 2024. Investigators traced the materials to the individual’s apartment after he shared an image depicting underage sexual exploitation through Google email.