Opinion
26 Feb 26

Bill Gates apologises to staff over Epstein files

Gates stated that while he never spent time with Epstein's victims, he admitted to having two affairs.

According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Bill Gates apologised to the staff of the Gates Foundation for his association with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein at a town hall meeting on Tuesday.

The Microsoft co-founder and billionaire admitted it was a "huge mistake to spend time with Epstein" and to involve Gates Foundation executives in meetings with him. Gates maintained that he did not participate in Epstein's crimes.

“I apologize to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made,” said Gates. “To be clear, I never spent any time with victims, the women around him.” He also said the men’s relationship was definitely “the opposite of the values of the Foundation and the goals of the Foundation. And our work is very reputation-sensitive. I mean, people can choose to work with us or not work with us. I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit.”

The statement on the relationship between Gates and Epstein follows the Department of Justice's release of files that included emails Epstein wrote to himself. In these emails, Epstein alleged that Gates had contracted a sexually transmitted infection and asked for antibiotics to secretly give to his then-wife, Melinda, an allegation Gates has denied. Documents have also revealed that Gates and Epstein met numerous times after Epstein's prison term to discuss the expansion of Gates's philanthropic work.

The files also contained redacted images of Gates with women. During the town hall, Gates explained that Epstein had requested he take these photos with his assistants.

Gates stated that while he never spent time with Epstein's victims, he admitted to having two affairs, one with a “Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist who I met through business activities.”

Hillary Clinton, the former US secretary of state, and Bill Clinton, former US president, are scheduled to testify today in a closed-door session before a congressional committee. The committee is conducting an investigation into Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton appear prominently in the government documents recently released concerning Epstein. However, both have stated that they severed their relationship with the financier before his 2008 conviction.