Bill Gates Expresses Regret Over Past Ties With Epstein

Bill Gates has voiced regret over “every minute” he spent with Jeffrey Epstein, even as the Microsoft co founder’s former wife Melinda said he still has questions to answer about his relationship with the convicted sexual offender.

The latest tranche of documents released by the US Justice Department last week contained emails involving many prominent figures and Epstein. These records often suggested warm friendships, questionable financial dealings, and the sharing of private photos.

In one draft email included in the files, Epstein alleged that Gates engaged in extramarital affairs. He wrote that his relationship with Gates ranged from helping him obtain drugs to deal with the consequences of sex with Russian girls, to facilitating illicit encounters with married women.

“Every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologise,” Gates told 9News Australia in an interview broadcast on Wednesday.

Gates dismissed the allegation, saying the email was never sent and was false. He questioned Epstein’s motives, asking whether he was trying to attack him in some way.

A spokesperson for Gates issued a similar denial following the release of millions of additional files linked to the Epstein investigation. Epstein died by suicide in prison in 2019.

According to the spokesperson, the documents show only Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates, and the lengths he was willing to go to in order to entrap and defame him.

Melinda French Gates told US National Public Radio that the document release brought back memories of very painful moments in her marriage. She said it was personally difficult whenever those details resurfaced.

She added that whatever unanswered questions remain are for those involved, including her former husband, to address themselves, not her.

The couple divorced in 2021.

Gates told 9News that he met Epstein in 2011 and had several dinners with him over a three year period. He said he never visited Epstein’s Caribbean island and did not have sexual relationships with women.

He explained that their conversations were focused on Epstein’s claims that he could persuade wealthy individuals to donate to global health causes. In hindsight, Gates said, that approach led nowhere.

Appearing in the Epstein files does not imply wrongdoing, but the documents revealed connections between Epstein and public figures who have often minimised or denied those links.