Bill Gates apologizes to foundation staff over Epstein ties

Bill Gates personally apologized to staff at the Gates Foundation for his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, admitting the association has cast a serious cloud over the organization’s reputation and work.

In a town hall meeting on Tuesday, Gates specifically acknowledged having two affairs with Russian women that Epstein later discovered. He insisted the affairs did not involve Epstein’s victims and declared verbatim, “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit.”

Gates called his decision to meet repeatedly with the convicted sex offender “a huge mistake,” especially for bringing Gates Foundation executives into those meetings. He began the relationship in 2011, years after Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea for soliciting a minor for prostitution. Gates continued the meetings through 2014 even after his then-wife Melinda French Gates expressed serious concerns in 2013.

He flew on Epstein’s private jet and spent time with him in Germany, France, New York, and Washington. Gates insisted he never stayed overnight at any Epstein property and never visited the private island.

According to Gates, Epstein frequently boasted about intimate relationships with many billionaires, particularly Wall Street figures, and offered to help raise large sums for global health causes. Gates admitted that seeing other prominent people participate made the situation feel normalized and that his own involvement helped Epstein restore credibility among elites.

Gates conceded the newly released Epstein files and Justice Department emails have created a major reputational crisis for the foundation. He told staff that knowing what is now public makes his repeated meetings “a hundred times worse” and directly contradicts the foundation’s values.