The Gates Foundation and Epstein? Turns out they shared an interest in visas for young European women

The fallout from Jeffrey Epstein has now touched nearly every corner of elite society — politics, entertainment, banking, and increasingly, philanthropy. Bill Gates has already acknowledged spending time within Epstein’s orbit, but new revelations about how the late financier intersected with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are raising fresh — and more uncomfortable — questions.

According to Vanity Fair, the foundation has admitted to previously undisclosed links between Epstein and its operations. After Gates publicly acknowledged past affairs, the foundation released a statement saying it would continue reviewing materials tied to Epstein’s communications with its staff — which is about as reassuring as saying, “we’ll circle back,” when everyone knows there’s a lot to circle.

Early document releases included an email Epstein drafted to himself claiming he could prove Gates had contracted a sexually transmitted infection and had attempted to medicate his wife without her knowledge. With Epstein dead and Ghislaine Maxwell largely silent, Gates remains the only primary source capable of confirming or denying such claims — and he has firmly denied them.

What complicates matters further is the scale. A United States Department of Justice document dump reportedly includes over 4,000 pages detailing connections between Epstein and the Gates Foundation. At this point, the relationship appears far more extensive than the “mistake” Gates once described — less a one-off misstep and more a series of decisions that aged… poorly, to put it mildly.

The documents go beyond emails. They reference discussions involving Middle East intelligence and a personal loan to a former think tank head, allegedly tied to facilitating visas for young women from Eastern Europe. That’s a long way from vaccines and mosquito nets — and not exactly the kind of “global development” line item donors imagine when they sign off on contributions.

The think tank in question, International Peace Institute, received roughly $8 million from the Gates Foundation between 2013 and 2019. Epstein reportedly acted as an intermediary, vouching for the organization. It was led by Terje Rød-Larsen, who is now under investigation in Norway for corruption and his ties to Epstein. Notably — and somewhat incredibly — Epstein amended his will just two days before his alleged suicide to leave Rød-Larsen and his wife $5 million each. Rød-Larsen has denied any wrongdoing and maintains he was unaware of Epstein’s crimes, which at this point is a sentence that tends to raise more eyebrows than it settles.

The Gates Foundation insists its funding to IPI was meant to support polio eradication efforts in the Middle East. That explanation, however, doesn’t quite bridge the gap to reports about visa facilitation for young women. It’s the kind of disconnect that doesn’t necessarily prove wrongdoing — but definitely invites more questions than it answers.

Further reports allege that IPI hired young women from Eastern Europe on short-term internships and shared their photos with Epstein for “approval.” Investigators have suggested many of these hires lacked the qualifications expected for such roles. In one email cited in the documents, Epstein responded to a staff photo sent by the IPI with “I wonder if it ok if I have sex with her, she is sooo sexy.”