Billionaire Bill Gates told a US Congressional committee this Wednesday (10/06) that he never established a personal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and ended all connections with the sex offender after he failed to fulfill promises to raise funds for charitable projects.
The Microsoft co-founder voluntarily reported to Washington for a closed-door session with the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating Epstein’s activities.
Gates is believed to have named influential individuals that Epstein approached in an attempt to raise financial resources.
Additionally, Gates addressed his own marital infidelities, detailing how Epstein exploited them to try to put pressure on him.
Committee members indicated that the testimony revealed Epstein as a “friend collector” seeking to associate with figures like Gates to “project power and influence.”
In his initial statement, Gates assured that he never witnessed Epstein involved in criminal conduct, nor did he have any indication of such activities.
“I have never visited your island, your ranch or your residence in Florida. I have never harmed anyone,” he declared. “Although he may have wanted to cultivate a close relationship, I was never interested in that and never responded.”
He also expressed the hope that “those who survived Epstein’s crimes can achieve the justice they are owed.”
In addition to Gates, former President Bill Clinton, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, among others, have already testified to the committee.
Epstein took his own life in a prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial. Her longtime friend, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison sentence.
She appeared virtually before the committee in February but invoked her right not to answer questions.
When the US Department of Justice (DOJ) released millions of pages of documents linked to the Epstein criminal investigation in January, Gates’ name was mentioned thousands of times and he appeared in several photographs alongside Epstein.
Gates has denied any misconduct and ignorance of Epstein’s illegal actions.
Statements about the relationship with the sex offender
In his opening statement, Gates reiterated what he said in an earlier interview this year about having misjudged meeting Epstein and that he is “one of many people who regret meeting him.”
A photograph released by the DOJ shows Gates near an aircraft with Epstein’s pilot present. Gates confirmed that he traveled with Epstein on a private jet.
Other documents include draft emails attributed to Epstein, containing a series of unverified and disputed allegations about Gates’ personal life.
Among the charges, Epstein alleged that he facilitated “illicit encounters” for Gates with “married women”, that Gates contracted a sexually transmitted infection (STI) from “Russian girls” and that he “helped Bill obtain medicine” to treat it.
In other correspondence, Epstein insinuated that Gates tried to discreetly give his then-wife Melinda antibiotics to protect her from the same infection. Gates denies these allegations, but has admitted to having extramarital affairs with two Russian women.
“Epstein was working to use information about my infidelities coupled with many falsehoods he added to force me to resume contact with him,” Gates stated in his opening statement.
The connection between the two began in 2011, three years after Epstein was convicted in Florida on two charges related to seeking prostitution services, and intensified as they discussed possible fundraising tactics for Gates’ global health initiative, according to the Microsoft founder.
Gates clarified that he made it clear from the beginning that Epstein would never have a role in the work of his foundation nor would he receive any compensation.
The committee’s top Democrat, Robert Garcia, told reporters in an update on the hearing that “Gates was aware that Jeffrey Epstein could have been convicted of a terrible crime and continued to interact with him to try to obtain money for his foundation.”
Gates told the committee that in 2014, after Epstein assembled a group he described as potential donors, he “realized that our previous discussions that should have translated into significant philanthropic support were a dead end,” adding that it became evident that no one in the group was interested in moving forward.
“At that moment, I concluded that Epstein would never keep his promises,” he said. “I told him we would not move forward and stopped communicating or meeting with him.”
Democratic lawmakers on the committee said Gates provided the names of people gathered by Epstein but did not release them publicly.
Republican committee member Tim Burchett described the questions as “very intense” and noted that Gates was cautious in his answers.
“It’s pretty clear to me, though, that Epstein was a collector of friends. He just liked having important people around and taking pictures with them and socializing, and I think that’s how he attracted them,” Burchett said.
He also told reporters that Gates looked “haggard for someone who has billions.”
Garcia and other Democrats on the committee mentioned that Gates discussed Epstein’s draft emails and insisted that he was never introduced to women, girls or any minors by Epstein.
“Some of your responses show us that many of the men who interacted with Jeffrey Epstein only saw what they wanted to see in their interactions,” commented Democrat Emily Randall.
Gates had informed officials at his foundation in February that he was aware of something vague about an 18-month travel ban on Epstein, but that he had not investigated his background further.
Lawmakers asked Gates whether it is plausible to believe that one of the greats of the information age has remained largely unaware of the details of Epstein’s past, including facts that were already in the public domain.
