In a recent interview, Bill Gates opened up about his encounter with Jeffrey Epstein, referring to their conversations as “a huge mistake.” On January 24, 2025, during his interview with The Wall Street Journal, Gates discussed his encounters with the convicted sex offender.
Speaking with The Wall Street Journal, Gates said, “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. So yes, 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.”
Continuing his statement amid laughter, Gates said, “Definitely, I mean, are you kidding?” Subsequently, Gates stated that he was increasingly tired of forming relationships after the scandals surrounding his encounter with Epstein. Epstein allegedly committed suicide in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal conspiracy and sex trafficking charges.
Did Jeffrey Epstein Manage Money for Bill Gates?
In 2019, a New York Times article disclosed that Bill Gates and Jeffrey Epstein met in 2011 to discuss the latter’s idea of raising funds for the Gates Foundation. However, the publication stated that at the time, Epstein had failed to convince Gates to join a charity fund.
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Additionally, the Wall Street Journal clarified that there was no payment or transaction between Epstein and Gates. However, the outlet stated that Epstein, on one occasion in 2017, tried to get some money out of Gates. Epstein had sent Gates an email requesting reimbursement for the money he had spent on software coding school for Mila Antonova, a bridge player.
However, the outlet clarified that there was no payment or transaction between them. In 2023, a spokesperson for Gates told PEOPLE that “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 further added, “Mr. Gates never had any financial dealings with Epstein. As Gates has said before, it was a mistake to have ever met him.” On numerous occasions, Gates has apologized for whatever connections he may have had with Epstein.
In 2021, the billionaire appeared on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 to discuss his previous relationships with Epstein. Gates said, “It was a huge mistake to spend time with him, to give him the credibility of being there. There were lots of others in that situation, but I made a mistake.”
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Gates continued, “I had several dinners with him, hoping that what he said about getting billions of dollars in philanthropy for global health through contacts that he had might emerge. When it looked like that wasn’t a real thing, that relationship ended.”
What We Know About Jeffery Epstein and Bill Gates’ Friendship
While Bill Gates has often maintained that he did not have any business relationship or friendship with Jeffery Epstein, the Times stated that the duo originally met in 2011. According to the Times, Gates met Epstein multiple times to discuss helping raise funds for the Gates Foundation.
The fundraising endeavors were never successful. Despite news of their friendship breaking in 2019, details about their friendship remain largely unknown. While Gates has often responded to queries regarding Epstein, he has never disclosed the number of times or dates of their meetings.
In 2023, the Wall Street Journal claimed Epstein threatened to expose Gates for an alleged affair with a Russian bridge player in 2017. According to the publication, Gates was still married to Melinda French Gates at the time the alleged affair occurred.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the email had appeared as blackmail, suggesting Epstein might expose the alleged relationship unless they stayed connected. Subsequently, in 2019, a Times article disclosed that Gates met Epstein, a convicted sex offender, after his child prostitution conviction.
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According to the sources, Melinda had been annoyed by Gates’ contacts with the late convicted sex offender for years. According to a 2019 New York Times article, Epstein had previously done jail time for soliciting prostitution for a kid and was considered a sex offender when Bill first met him.
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