Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has admitted he had two affairs with Russian women while married to his now-ex wife Melinda French Gates and issued a groveling apology for his links with the convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Gates, 70, told staffers at his foundation on Tuesday that he flew on a private plane with the disgraced financier and spent time with him in the US and abroad, but didn’t participate in any crime, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” Gates said in the town hall meeting. “To be clear, I never spent any time with the victims, the women around him.”
Gates first met Epstein in 2011, which was after the financier’s Florida conviction for procuring a child for prostitution, and continued to socialize with him — seemingly ignoring concerns raised by French Gates.
The billionaire has always denied wrongdoing over his Epstein links, but came clean about alleged affairs during his marriage to French Gates, who filed for divorce in 2021, ending their 27-year marriage.
“I did have affairs, one with a Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist who I met through business activities,” he told staffers.
Epstein had previously threatened Gates over the affair with Russian bridge player Mila Antonova, which was previously reported by the outlet
Epstein met Antonova while seeking financial backers for a bridge academy before he paid for her to attend software coding school.
Gates met Antonova in 2010 at a tournament they were playing in.
In a July 4, 2013, email to Boris Nikolic, Gates’ chief advisor for science and technology, Epstein named two women with whom he alleged Gates had affairs.
The pedophile claimed the women risked “becoming overnight sensations.”
“Bill risks going from richest man to biggest hypocrite, Melinda a laughing stock, pledges will disappear as a result,” Epstein told Nikolic.
Just weeks later, Epstein sent a “resignation” email to himself where he seemed to be writing as Nikolic.
“During the past few weeks I have been caught up in a severe marital dispute between Melinda and Bill,” the email said.
The email tried to suggest Nikolic had assisted Gates in securing medication “in order to deal with the consequences of sex with Russian girls.”
Nikolic claimed the emails were not written on his behalf or at his request.
During the town hall, Gates admitted he spent time with Epstein in New York, Germany, France, and Washington, but said he never visited his island.
Gates acknowledged how his ex-wife had always been wary about his links with Epstein.
“To give her credit, she was always kind of skeptical about the Epstein thing,” he said.
Gates also admitted how his links with Epstein had impacted others within the Gates Foundation.
“I apologize to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake I made,” he said.
“It definitely is the opposite of the values of the Foundation and the goals of the Foundation.”
An organization spokesperson said Gates “spoke candidly” … and “took responsibility for his actions.”
Gates previously said he was “foolish” to spend any time with Epstein.
“I thought it would help me with global health philanthropy. In fact, it failed to do that. It was just a huge mistake,” he told the Journal in 2025.
With Post wires
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