Billionaire Bill Gates told Congress on Wednesday he believed doing business with Jeffrey Epstein was “acceptable” at the time the two had dealings, despite the financier’s 2008 conviction for sex crimes, Democrats told reporters, as the Microsoft cofounder faces increasing scrutiny over his relationship with the late financier.
Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates arrives to testify before the House Oversight Committee on June 10 in Washington, DC.
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Gates is sitting for a transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee, which will take place behind closed doors and will not be videotaped, though the transcript is expected to be publicly released.
The billionaire told Congress in an opening statement he “never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct” and was “deeply sorry” for giving Epstein more credibility through their association, also expressing regret for his business dealings with the financier and saying he “should never have met with Epstein in the first place.”
Gates has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, but had a lengthy professional relationship with the financier, meeting with him multiple times between 2011 and 2014 about plans for a wealth fund that were ultimately unsuccessful.
Gates has called his relationship with Epstein a “huge mistake” and confirmed he had affairs with women that the financier knew about, but his office has denied allegations Epstein made about Gates in the Epstein files as being “absolutely absurd,” including that Gates used drugs, had “illicit trysts” and contracted a sexually transmitted disease and then "surreptitiously" gave antibiotics for the disease to then-wife Melinda French Gates.
House Oversight chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., told reporters that lawmakers would ask Gates, “What did he see, did he know what was going on, was he involved in any of this,” and emphasized, “Nobody’s accusing Bill Gates of any wrongdoing.”
Democratic lawmakers told reporters during a break in questioning Wednesday that Gates admitted to knowing about Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution but did business with him anyway in order to get help raising money, with Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., telling reporters Gates testified, “He viewed this narrow relationship as being an acceptable means to access wealthy donors.”
Democratic lawmakers said Gates testified he did not witness any abuse when he was with Epstein and did not meet any women through him, but did admit to associating with him despite knowing he was a registered sex offender who had pleaded guilty to crimes. Gates testified he “felt that getting billions of dollars for global health was worth it,” Stansbury said Wednesday. Gates also named people who were in “key positions” to help Epstein influence the billionaire, Democrats said, and once again denied the most explosive allegations against him in the Epstein files, claiming Epstein would write emails to himself and “say things that were not true.” Lawmakers offered varying accounts of Gates’ demeanor when testifying, with Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., claiming Gates was “a little combative” and was “not as candid and forthcoming as he can be,” while others described the billionaire as being forthcoming and cooperative in answering questions. “Any witness on occasion is going to be a little combative,” Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said when asked about the discrepancy, explaining Gates had pushed back on some questioning, but “he is answering questions.”
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, Members of the Committee—
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today.
I am here to answer your questions about my interactions with Jeffrey Epstein and to help contribute to the Committee’s important work. I support the release of all the Epstein files and sincerely hope that, through your efforts and those of others advocating on their behalf, the survivors of Epstein’s crimes can get the justice that they deserve.
At the outset, I want to state very clearly: I never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct. I never went to his island, his ranch, or his Florida home. I have never victimized anyone. While he may have sought to foster a personal relationship, I was never interested in that and never reciprocated.
I was introduced to Epstein in 2011 through people I trusted in my professional and philanthropic work. Epstein claimed he could raise billions of dollars for global health from people for whom he provided tax and estate services. I recall being aware that Epstein had faced prior legal issues, but I did not fully understand the extent of the crimes he committed. I accepted the introduction without applying the scrutiny I should have.
For almost two decades, my full-time focus has been global health and education. I have been guided by the belief that all lives have equal value, and that every child should have the chance to live a healthy life, no matter where they were born. I have committed my resources and my time to this effort, but my wealth alone cannot fill the enormous funding gap that remains. This is why trying to encourage others of significant means to invest in global health has become such an important element of my work.
My interactions with Epstein began with a limited number of preliminary meetings—three in 2011 and two in 2012—during which I talked about the goals of my work. We began more extensive conversations in 2013 and 2014. The discussions focused on identifying potential giving structures, such as donor-advised funds, and how to enroll individuals he claimed were interested in making significant contributions. I made it clear to Epstein from the outset that he would never play a role in any of the work or receive any compensation.
In 2014, after Epstein brought together a group he described as potential donors, I realized that our prior discussions—which should have translated into meaningful philanthropic support—were a dead-end. It was clear that no one in the group was interested enough to move forward. At that point, I concluded Epstein would never deliver on his promises. I told him we would go no further and stopped communicating or meeting with him. No vehicle for charitable giving was ever created and no funds were raised. Our interactions ended in December 2014, four years before new reports in the press and unsealed court documents shed light on the extent of his crimes.
It was during the same time period that an employee was in the process of transitioning out of my private office. This employee engaged Epstein to negotiate and advise him on the terms of the separation. I did not ask—nor did I want or need— Epstein to be involved in this matter. His involvement resulted in email exchanges, calls, and meetings with members of my team and me. However, the agreement we ultimately reached was not any different from what was previously agreed upon months in advance of Epstein inserting himself.
It was after this that I learned Epstein had become aware of sensitive information about my personal life, including the fact that I had been unfaithful in my marriage. These affairs had nothing to do with my interactions with Epstein, but they were painful for my family. As the public can now see, based on what has been released in the files, Epstein was working to use information about my infidelities—in addition to many lies that he layered on top—to pressure me to re-engage with him. He was unsuccessful in this effort, but it shows some of the ways he tried to leverage his interactions with me to further his agenda.
I should never have met with Epstein in the first place. Based on what I know now, I understand that even if he had delivered the new donors he promised, it would not have justified associating with him.
I see now that he sought to build an image of legitimacy around himself, using connections to reputable and powerful people to deflect scrutiny and attempt to rehabilitate his reputation. I was so focused on the possibility of raising funds for global health that I allowed that goal to override my better judgment. That is a sobering realization, and it has reinforced for me the importance of being more attentive to how access and reputation can be manipulated by people acting in bad faith.
In the work I do, reputation is the basis for developing partnerships that save lives. Meeting with Epstein was a grave error in judgement and put this work at risk. His behavior was antithetical to all my efforts to contribute to a world where everyone has a chance to live a healthy and productive life. If the time I spent with Epstein lent him any credibility, I am deeply sorry. I have learned a significant lesson and am now far more careful about who I engage with even in a limited capacity.
I look forward to answering all your questions about my interactions with Epstein—and the topics identified in the Chairman’s invitation to appear today.
This Committee’s work is essential. It is my sincere hope that those harmed by Epstein’s crimes will receive the justice they deserve.
Thank you.
“I’m glad to be here voluntarily to testify, to help with the committee’s work,” Gates told reporters Wednesday before entering the deposition. “I’ll start with an opening statement in the hearing room. I hope my testimony is helpful to the important work of the committee to find justice for the victims.”
Gates’ interview will only take place on Wednesday, and a transcript will likely be released shortly thereafter. In addition to the House Oversight Committee’s probe looking into Gates’ relationship with Epstein, the Gates Foundation is also conducting its own investigation into Gates, which is reportedly still ongoing.
Gates first met Epstein in January 2011 at the financier’s Manhattan townhouse, after they were put in touch by Gates Foundation officials Melanie Walker and Boris Nikolic, The New York Times first reported. The two met regularly in person between 2011 and 2014, and Gates has said he flew on Epstein’s plane and met with him in Germany, France, New York and Washington, but never stayed with him overnight. Gates has alleged he never went to Epstein’s private island, though an October 2011 email to Epstein included a reminder that said, “gates to island.” The Microsoft cofounder had discussed starting a charitable fund with Epstein using Gates’ money and the help of other billionaire donors, but plans appeared to fall apart in 2014, and Gates has claimed he did not contact Epstein after that year. Gates’ relationship with Epstein has come under scrutiny given that it took place years after Epstein was convicted for soliciting prostitution in 2008, and the billionaire has claimed he did not properly vet Epstein’s background and now regrets it. In an unpublished 2014 magazine profile of Epstein that writer Michael Wolff has confirmed he wrote and sent to Epstein for review, Wolff alleged Epstein advised “Gates on a vast expansion and restructuring of the Gates foundation,” and Gates was “prodding Epstein to begin a process of public rehabilitation” after the financier’s guilty plea. There is no evidence in the Epstein files to indicate Gates was in touch with Epstein after 2014, though correspondence shows Epstein trying to use Walker—who had a lengthy personal relationship with Epstein as well as working with Gates—to get messages to the billionaire. In text messages from February 2019, months before Epstein’s death, Epstein told Walker to tell Gates he “owes [Epstein] a call,” and Walker said she passed that message on to Gates but the billionaire “didn’t say anything,” though he “asked how you were and I said you were doing great and lots of science.”
The Epstein files include a 2013 email Epstein sent to himself, in which the financier appeared to draft someone’s resignation letter from the Gates Foundation. The letter claims the sender, in their work with Gates, “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.” Gates’ office has denied the allegations as “absolutely absurd and completely false,” with Gates then reportedly repeating those denials Wednesday. The billionaire admitted to employees in February that he did have two affairs with Russian women that Epstein later found out about, but has denied knowing anything about Epstein’s alleged abuse or committing any misconduct in connection with Epstein. The Epstein files also include apparent discussions between Epstein and Walker about her having a sexual relationship with Gates. A spokesperson for Gates confirmed to The Wall Street Journal that the billionaire had a “consensual” relationship with Walker, but denied any impropriety in the relationship and said Gates was not aware of the extent of her ties to Epstein.
Gates said in a February town hall with employees “it was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein” and apologized “to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made,” the Journal first reported. He denied any wrongdoing in connection with the late financier and defended photos of himself with anonymous women that were released in the Epstein files, claiming Epstein had asked him to take photos with the financier’s assistants after their business meetings. “To be clear I never spent any time with victims, the women around him,” Gates said. The billionaire has suggested Epstein’s coterie of high-profile friends made interacting with the financier feel “normalized,” and has apologized for not looking closer into Epstein’s 2008 conviction, telling employees, “Knowing what I know now makes it, you know, a hundred times worse in terms of not only his crimes in the past, but now it’s clear there was ongoing bad behavior.”
Comer told reporters Wednesday the House Oversight Committee will also seek testimony from lawyer Alan Dershowitz, based on comments made during a deposition Tuesday by Epstein’s longtime assistant Lesley Groff and by victims of Epstein’s alleged abuse. Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, now deceased, publicly accused Dershowitz of abusing her in connection with Epstein, but Dershowitz has long denied her claims. Giuffre later settled her lawsuit against him, admitting she “may have made a mistake in identifying Mr. Dershowitz.” Comer also said the committee plans to bring in Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to testify, after former Attorney General Pam Bondi told the committee he had more responsibility for overseeing the Epstein files than she did. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the committee’s Ranking Member, told reporters Wednesday that Democrats would be pushing for Blanche’s testimony to be videotaped and take place under oath, and also suggested the committee could bring in witnesses who have already testified to speak to the committee for a second time as new evidence arises in lawmakers’ investigation.
Gates has hired the House Oversight Committee’s former counsel to help him prepare for his interview, The New York Times reported Tuesday, raising potential concerns about the optics given advisor Jake Greenberg worked himself on the committee’s Epstein investigation before leaving the committee in December. Greenberg will not be present at Gates’ interview Wednesday, the Times reports, as ethics rules bar officials like him from working directly with lawmakers for a year after they leave Capitol Hill.
Forbes estimates Gates’ net worth at $104.1 billion as of Wednesday morning, making him the 19th richest person in the world.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
What We Know About Bill Gates’ Connection To Jeffrey Epstein—As Billionaire Prepares To Testify (Forbes)
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