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Bill Gates attends the Clinton Global Initiative 2024 Annual Meeting at New York Hilton Midtown
Photo by John Nacion/Getty Images

‘I was foolish to spend any time with him’: Bill Gates admits that his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was a huge mistake

He says his connection to Epstein was foolish, but he doesn't consider it his biggest regret.

Bill Gates has lived many lives, each as complex as the last, and as such, he felt the need to publish a memoir chronicling his childhood all the way to his founding of Microsoft. On his promotional tour for the book, the dreaded question of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein inevitably came up, and Gates admitted that he feels foolish for the entire relationship.

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Gates shared with the Wall Street Journal, “In retrospect, I was foolish to spend any time with him. He got time with various people by spending time with other people,” Gates continued. “I think I was quite stupid. I thought it would help me with global health philanthropy. In fact, it failed to do that. It was just a huge mistake.” Incidentally, Wall Street Journal had previously published a detailed report about Gates and Epstein’s relationship when the latter was still alive and fraternizing with some of the world’s most influential individuals.

According to the publication, the two were first officially linked in 2011, when they had more than a handful of scheduled meetings. They became particularly close in 2013, when Gates flew on Epstein’s infamous private jet to Florida. That same year, Gates was introduced to Thorbjørn Jagland, the then-chair of the Nobel Peace Prize committee, at Jagland’s home in France in an alleged bid to campaign for Gates to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on polio eradication — an allegation the Gates Foundation later denied.

Somewhere along the way, however, Gates and Epstein’s relationship soured after Gates refused to join as a donor in a charitable fund Epstein tried to set up with JP Morgan. At that point, their relationship became complex, with Epstein reportedly attempting to blackmail Gates by threatening to reveal an affair Gates allegedly had with a Russian bridge player named Mila Antonova.

Noted convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein has since died, and whatever he might have had to say on the matter will remain a mystery. However, what is not a mystery is how Bill Gates’ ex-wife, Melinda Gates, viewed the involvement between the two men. Following Epstein’s conviction, Melinda and Bill promptly announced their divorce, and she soon left their joint foundation. Although Bill Gates has since moved on romantically, he still considers the divorce the biggest regret of his life. He even stopped by The Times and spoke about how no other failure in life can measure up to his divorce, saying, “There are others, but none that matter.”

In the WSJ interview, Gates was also asked about his fellow tech billionaires moving into politics. He brushed off the topic, stating that he barely speaks to them, having last spoken to Elon Musk over a year ago. As for President Trump, Gates expressed a pragmatic stance, focusing instead on working with whoever is in government to help advance his global health agenda. At this point in his life, it appears Gates is not keen on forming deep associations and is solely focused on achieving his own goals.

Bill Gates’ book Source Code: My Beginnings is scheduled for release in Feb. 2025.


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Author
Image of Fred Onyango
Fred Onyango
Fred Onyango is an entertainment journalist who primarily focuses on the intersection of entertainment, society, and politics. He has been writing about the entertainment industry for five years, covering celebrity, music, and film through the lens of their impact on society and politics. He has reported from the London Film Festival and was among the first African entertainment journalists invited to cover the Sundance Film Festival. Fun fact—Fred is also a trained pilot.