Bill Gates has publicly addressed his name appearing in newly released Jeffrey Epstein files, saying he regrets ever spending time with the convicted sex offender and rejecting claims Epstein made about him in private emails.
In an interview with “Nine News Australia” published Wednesday, Gates described his past interactions with Epstein as a mistake and pushed back against allegations contained in the documents.
“Apparently, Jeffrey wrote an email to himself. That email was never sent, the email is false,” Gates said. “So, I don’t know what his thinking was there. Was he trying to attack me in some way?”
“It just reminds me, every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologize that I did that,” he added.
The comments came after the U.S. Department of Justice released millions of records connected to the Epstein investigation. Gates was among several prominent figures named in the documents, though the release does not constitute allegations or findings of wrongdoing by authorities.
Gates confirmed that he met Epstein in 2011, several years after Epstein had been convicted of sex crimes, and said they had “a number of dinners” together. He denied ever visiting Epstein’s private island.
“The focus was always, he knew a lot of very rich people, and he was saying he could get them to give money to global health,” Gates said. “In retrospect, that was a dead end, and I’ve said many times, but I’ll say again, I was foolish to spend time with him. I was one of many people who regret ever knowing him.”
Emails Allegedly Written by Epstein
Among the newly released materials are a series of emails from 2013 that Epstein sent to himself, in which he appeared to suggest that Gates was involved in an extramarital affair and seeking illegal drugs. Gates has denied all of the claims.
In one email dated July 18, 2013, Epstein wrote that he was stepping down from a role connected to the Gates Foundation and BG3, a think tank founded by Gates, claiming he had become entangled in personal matters involving Gates and his then-wife.
“I have the greatest respect for my friend of 7 years, and wish them both well,” Epstein wrote.
In additional messages riddled with typos, Epstein described his alleged relationship with Gates as follows: “In my role as his right hand I had been asked on mulitple occassion and in hindsight , wrongly acquiesced into participating in things that have ranged from the morally inappropriate , to the ethically unsound and had been repeatedly asked to do other things that get near and potentially over the line into the illegal.”
Epstein went on to describe those activities as “helping Bill to get drugs, in order to deal with consequences of sex with russian girls, to facilictating his illicit trysts, with married women,to being asked to provide adderal.”
In a statement to NBC News, a spokesperson for Gates strongly denied the allegations. “These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false,” the statement said. “The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame.”
Melinda French Gates Reacts
Gates’ ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, addressed the release of the files during an appearance on NPR’s “Wild Card” podcast, saying she felt “unbelievable sadness” seeing Gates’ name mentioned.
“Whatever questions remain there … for those people, and for even my ex-husband, they need to answer to those things, not me,” she said. “And I am so happy to be away from all the muck that was there.”
Broader Context of the Epstein Files
The Epstein files include references to numerous powerful figures, including Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Bill Clinton. All have denied wrongdoing and have not been accused of crimes by authorities in connection to Epstein. Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify before Congress.
Epstein’s longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell remains the only person convicted in relation to Epstein’s crimes and is currently serving a prison sentence in Texas.
Epstein died in custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
Source: NBC News