Bill Gates Expresses Regret Over Time Spent with Jeffrey Epstein

In a recent interview, Bill Gates expressed deep regret over the time he spent with Jeffrey Epstein, following the release of documents that referenced the Microsoft co-founder. Gates shared his reflections during an interview with ‘Nine News Australia’ on Wednesday, describing his interactions with Epstein as ‘foolish’ and asserting that the allegations Epstein made about him were ‘false.’

“Apparently, Jeffrey wrote an email to himself. That email was never sent, the email is false,” Gates remarked during the interview. “So, I don’t know what his thinking was there. Was he trying to attack me in some way?”

Gates further elaborated on his regrets, mentioning, “It just reminds me, every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologize that I did that.” He was one among several high-profile individuals mentioned in the voluminous files the Justice Department released on Friday relating to Epstein.

The Microsoft co-founder also stated he met Epstein in 2011, post Epstein’s conviction for sex crimes, and revealed that they had shared social dinners. Notably, Gates denied ever visiting Epstein’s infamous private island. Gates mentioned, “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. 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.”

In a series of self-addressed emails from 2013, Epstein insinuated that Gates was involved in an extramarital affair and was seeking unauthorized drugs. Epstein, in an email dated July 18, 2013, implied his resignation from roles with the Gates Foundation and BG3 due to being “caught up in a severe marital dispute between Melinda and Bill.”

Moreover, Epstein wrote with multiple spelling errors, recounting his alleged relationship with Gates: “In my role as his right hand, I had been asked on multiple occasions, 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.” These controversial allegations included claims of aiding Gates in acquiring drugs related to indiscretions with “Russian girls” and facilitating questionable interactions with married women.

Responding to these allegations, a spokesperson for Bill Gates dismissed them through a statement to NBC News on Tuesday, declaring, “These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false. 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.”

Meanwhile, Gates’ ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, expressed her perspective during an interview with NPR’s “Wild Card” podcast on Tuesday, articulating her “unbelievable sadness” upon hearing her ex-husband’s name surface in the files. She indicated, “Whatever questions remain there … for those people, and for even my ex-husband, they need to answer those things, not me. And I am so happy to be away from all the muck that was there.”

Bill Gates was part of a series of influential men, a list including figures such as President Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and former President Bill Clinton, mentioned in the millions of pages the Justice Department compiled relating to Epstein. Trump, Musk, and Clinton have all denied misconduct and have not been formally accused of any crimes linked to Epstein. In an additional development, both Bill and Hillary Clinton consented to testify in Congress regarding Epstein shortly.

Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former associate, remains the sole individual to have been charged and found guilty of crimes associated with Epstein’s trafficking activities and is currently imprisoned in Texas. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while he was facing charges for sex trafficking.

This article was reported by Matt Lavietes for NBC News.