Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates for the first time publicly confronted his controversial links to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying he is sorry the two ever met. Gates said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal: “In retrospect, I was foolish to spend any time with him. I think I was quite stupid. I thought it would help me with global health philanthropy. It failed to do that. It was just a huge mistake.”
It has been reported that Gates had a number of meetings with Epstein after the latter’s conviction; he continued to deny any business or personal relationship with Epstein. Records reveal multiple visits to Epstein’s mansion. In 2014, Gates broke ties with Epstein, later repeating in an interview with CNN that it was a mistake to have dealings with Epstein.
Gates also recounted a disturbing incident involving Epstein, who had allegedly threatened to expose an affair that he had with Russian bridge player Mila Antonova in 2017. This was after Gates refused to join Epstein’s multibillion-dollar charitable fund with JPMorgan Chase.
Epstein had known Antonova since 2013 and had supported her to study software coding, reportedly in an attempt to use inside knowledge for his benefit. When Epstein died in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking, that, according to Gates, made him more cautious about broadening his network. “I definitely became wary of building more connections,” he said.
The aftermath of this relationship has spilled well into Gates’ personal life. His ex-wife, Melinda Gates-who was married to him from 1994 until 2021-has publicly stated that Epstein played a significant role in the dissolution of their marriage. “I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, no.
I made that clear to him,” she said in an interview to CBS Mornings back in 2022. Melinda said her only meeting with Epstein gave her a bad feeling that never left her: “I regretted it the second I walked in the door. He was abhorrent. He was evil personified. My heart breaks for these women.”.
Just two days after their divorce was complete, he spoke to his sorrow for the end of their partnership, saying, “Melinda is a terrific person, and that partnership we had coming to an end is a source of great personal sadness.” In spite of all ills, the Gates remained in good company even after the separation of ways, continuing to co-parent their three adult kids: Jennifer, 28, Rory, 25, and Phoebe, 22.
Jeffrey Epstein was accused of several charges, including sex trafficking and the abuse of minors. He died by suicide in 2019 while being incarcerated.
