Bill Gates Calls Association With Jeffrey Epstein His 'Biggest Mistake' and Apologizes

New York. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has spoken openly for the first time about his association with the late American billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, who faced child sexual abuse allegations and died by suicide in jail. In a special meeting with Gates Foundation employees, he admitted that spending time with Epstein was the "biggest mistake" of his life and apologized for it.

According to recently released documents and a Wall Street Journal report, the 70-year-old Gates provided a detailed explanation to his employees regarding his relationship with Epstein. He stated that he met with Epstein on various occasions between 2011 and 2014 and even traveled abroad with him. However, he claimed he never visited Epstein's private island and denied any involvement in his illicit activities.

In the meeting, Gates revealed that he had a romantic relationship with two Russian women in the past, which Epstein later became aware of. Indications have emerged that Epstein might have tried to pressure him based on this relationship. Previously, files released by the US Department of Justice contained claims that Gates had contracted a sexually transmitted disease and tried to hide it, but Gates' spokesperson called those claims entirely false and misleading.

Bringing up his ex-wife Melinda French Gates, Bill stated that she was suspicious of his relationship with Epstein from the beginning. Appreciating Melinda's foresight, he said, "She was always right about this, but I didn't listen to her in time." Melinda recently stated in an interview that the issue with Epstein caused her great pain in her marriage and that she is now happy to be far away from that 'mud'.

Gates argued that he became close to Epstein because the latter promised to help him raise significant funds for philanthropic work. However, the Gates Foundation clarified that there was no financial transaction with Epstein, and he was never an employee of the organization. Gates expressed regret that his actions caused problems for other people and committed to not repeating such mistakes in the future.