Bill Gates has said he “regrets every minute” he ever spent with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, speaking publicly after newly released Justice Department files mentioned the Microsoft co-founder.
In an interview with Nine News Australia posted on Wednesday (February 4), Gates described his past interactions with Epstein as a serious mistake and rejected claims Epstein made about him in the documents.
‘Every minute I spent with him, I regret’
“It just reminds me, every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologize that I did that,” Gates said.
Calling his decision to meet Epstein “foolish,” Gates added that allegations attributed to Epstein were “false.”
“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?”
Gates met Epstein after conviction
Gates acknowledged that he met Epstein in 2011 — years after Epstein had already been convicted of sex crimes.
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.”
“I was foolish to spend time with him,” he added. “I was one of many people who regret ever knowing him.”
Epstein emails allege misconduct
Among the newly released files are a series of 2013 emails Epstein sent to himself, in which he made unverified claims about Gates.
In one email dated July 18, 2013, Epstein wrote that he resigned from a role linked to the Gates Foundation and BG3, a think tank founded by Gates, after becoming “caught up in a severe marital dispute between Melinda and Bill.”
Epstein further alleged that these activities included helping Gates obtain drugs.
Gates denies allegations
In a statement to NBC News on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Gates rejected Epstein’s claims outright.
“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’ former wife, Melinda French Gates, said she felt “unbelievable sadness” seeing her ex-husband’s name appear in the latest Epstein-related documents.
“Whatever questions remain there … for those people, and for even my ex-husband, they need to answer to those things, not me,” she said on NPR’s Wild Card podcast. “And I am so happy to be away from all the muck that was there.”
Powerful figures named in Epstein files
Gates is among several prominent figures mentioned in millions of Justice Department documents linked to Epstein. Others named include President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and former President Bill Clinton.
None of them have been accused by authorities of crimes connected to Epstein, and all have denied wrongdoing. Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify before Congress in the near future about the Epstein case.
Epstein case background
Jeffrey Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
His former girlfriend and accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, is the only person convicted in connection with Epstein’s crimes and is currently serving a prison sentence in Texas.
