What Bill Gates said about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein in an investigation by the US Congress

Bill Gates spoke about his marital infidelities at the committee investigating Epstein
Getty Images via BBC
Billionaire Bill Gates told a US Congressional committee on Wednesday (10/06) that he never had a personal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and that he severed all ties with the sex offender when he was unable to fulfill promises to raise funds for philanthropic efforts.
The founder of Microsoft voluntarily appeared in Washington at a closed-door hearing with the Committee on Oversight of the Chamber investigating Epstein.
Gates is believed to have mentioned the names of powerful people that Epstein approached to try to raise funds.
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Gates also spoke about his marital infidelities, saying that Epstein used them to pressure him.
Members of the panel said the testimony showed that Epstein was a "collector of friends" and associated with people like Gates to "project power and influence."
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In his opening statement, Gates said he never saw Epstein involved in criminal conduct, nor did he have any indication of it.
"I never went to his island, his ranch or his house in Florida. I never victimized anyone," he said. "While he may have sought to foster a personal relationship, I was never interested in that and never responded."
He also said he hopes that "survivors of Epstein's crimes can get the justice they deserve."
In addition to Gates, former President Bill Clinton, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, among others, have also spoken to the committee.
Epstein committed suicide in a prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial. Her longtime friend, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
She appeared virtually before the committee in February but invoked her right to refuse to answer questions.
When the US Department of Justice (DOJ) published millions of pages of documents linked to the Epstein criminal investigation in January, Gates' name was mentioned thousands of times and he appeared in several photos alongside Epstein.
Gates denied any wrongdoing and knowledge of Epstein's illegal activities.
Repentance
In his opening statement, Gates reiterated what he had said in an interview earlier this year about having exercised poor judgment in meeting Epstein and that he is "one of many people who regret meeting him."
A photo released by the DOJ shows Gates near an aircraft with Epstein's pilot present. Gates said he traveled with Epstein on a private jet.
Other documents include draft emails attributed to Epstein, containing a series of unverified and disputed allegations about Gates' personal life.
These include allegations that Epstein facilitated "illicit encounters" with "married women" for Gates, that Gates contracted a sexually transmitted infection (STI) from "Russian girls" and that he "helped Bill obtain medicine" to treat it.
In another email, Epstein alleges that Gates tried to surreptitiously give his then-wife Melinda antibiotics to protect her from the same infection. Gates denies these allegations, but admitted to having had extramarital affairs with two Russian women.
"Epstein was working to use information about my infidelities - in addition to the many lies he added - to pressure me to resume contact with him," Gates said in his opening statement.
The connection between the two began in 2011, three years after Epstein was convicted in Florida on two charges related to procuring prostitution services, and intensified as they discussed possible fundraising strategies for Gates' global health initiative, the Microsoft founder said.
Gates said he made it clear from the beginning that Epstein would never have a role in his foundation's work nor would he receive any compensation.
The committee's top Democrat, Robert Garcia, told reporters in an update on the hearing that "Gates was aware that Jeffrey Epstein could have been convicted of a horrific crime and continued to interact with him to try to obtain money for his foundation."
Gates told the committee that in 2014, after Epstein gathered a group he described as potential donors, he "realized that our previous discussions - which should have translated into significant philanthropic support - were a dead end," adding that it was clear that no one in the group was interested in moving forward.
"At that point, I concluded that Epstein would never fulfill his promises," he said. "I told him we would not move forward and stopped communicating or meeting with him."
Democratic lawmakers on the committee said Gates provided the names of people gathered by Epstein but did not share them publicly.
US Department of Justice released undated photo of Jeffrey Epstein with Bill Gates
US Department of Justice
Republican committee member Tim Burchett said the questions were "very intense" and that Gates was cautious in his answers.
"It's pretty clear to me, though, that Epstein was a collector of friends. He simply liked to have important people around and take pictures with them and hang out with them, and I think that's how he attracted them," Burchett said.
He also told reporters that Gates seemed "haggard for someone who has several billions."
Garcia and other Democrats on the committee said Gates talked about Epstein's draft emails and insisted he was never introduced to women, girls or anyone underage person by Epstein.
"Some of his responses show us that many of the men who interacted with Jeffrey Epstein only saw what they wanted to see in their interactions," said Democrat Emily Randall.
Gates told officials at his foundation in February that he was aware of something vague about an 18-month travel ban on Epstein, but that he did not look into his background further.
Lawmakers questioned Gates whether it is plausible to believe that he - one of the gurus of the information age - had remained largely unaware of the details of Epstein's background, including facts that were already in the public domain.

Source: G1