Overview
- At a recorded Gates Foundation town hall, Gates said he took responsibility for past meetings with Jeffrey Epstein and apologized for involving foundation executives.
- He told employees he ‘did nothing illicit’ and ‘saw nothing illicit,’ said he never spent time with Epstein’s victims, and described redacted photos as images Epstein asked him to take with his assistants.
- Gates admitted two extramarital affairs with a Russian bridge player and a Russian nuclear physicist, which he said Epstein later learned about, while his representatives rejected sensational claims in draft emails as completely false.
- He said he met Epstein starting in 2011 and continued through 2014, traveled with him on a private jet in the U.S. and Europe, never stayed overnight or visited Epstein’s island, and continued contact despite Melinda French Gates’ 2013 concerns.
- A foundation spokesperson confirmed Gates’ remarks and that he took responsibility, noted no payments were made to Epstein, and recent disclosures have led to reputational fallout including Gates withdrawing from a planned India AI keynote.