Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates admitted to having affairs with two Russian women and apologized for his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a candid town hall meeting with Gates Foundation employees on Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The 70-year-old billionaire philanthropist addressed staff members at the twice-yearly gathering, taking responsibility for his connection to Epstein while maintaining he witnessed no illegal activity during their interactions between 2011 and 2014.
Gates acknowledged affairs with a Russian bridge player he met at bridge events and a Russian nuclear physicist he met through business activities. Associate Boris Nikolic discussed those relationships with Epstein, according to the Journal.
The admission comes weeks after the Department of Justice released millions of pages of documents from its criminal investigation into Epstein, who died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. The files revealed extensive communications between Gates and Epstein, including meetings that occurred years after Epstein served 13 months in prison for soliciting prostitution involving a minor in Florida.
One of the Russian women Gates acknowledged having an affair with was Mila Antonova, a bridge player in her 20s when they met at the North American Bridge Championships in Washington, D.C., in 2009. Gates was 53 at the time and married to Melinda French Gates, with whom he shares three adult children.
Boris Nikolic, Gates’ former science adviser, introduced Antonova to Epstein in 2013 as she sought funding for an online bridge teaching business. Documents show Epstein later attempted to blackmail Gates over the relationship, sending emails in 2017 calling the Microsoft founder “so cheap” for his treatment of Antonova and threatening to expose the affair.
Gates told foundation staff he first met Epstein in 2011 and was aware of “some 18-month thing” that had limited Epstein’s travel, but failed to investigate further. He acknowledged flying on Epstein’s private jet and meeting with him in several countries, though he claimed he never stayed overnight or visited Epstein’s island.
“It was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein,” Gates said, according to multiple outlets. “I apologize to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made.”
The billionaire insisted he saw nothing illicit during his time with the disgraced financier and never spent time with Epstein’s victims. Gates said his last contact with Epstein occurred in 2014, though Epstein continued emailing him after that.
A Gates Foundation spokesperson confirmed the town hall took place and that Gates addressed the Epstein files, the foundation’s artificial intelligence work, and global health initiatives.
The recently released Department of Justice documents included photographs of Gates posing with unidentified women whose faces were redacted. Gates told staff these were pictures Epstein requested he take with Epstein’s assistants after their meetings.
Melinda French Gates, who divorced Gates in 2021 after 27 years of marriage, has spoken publicly about how her ex-husband’s relationship with Epstein contributed to their split. She left the Gates Foundation in June 2024 after serving as co-chair since its founding.
In a 2022 CBS Mornings interview, French Gates said she made her objections to the relationship clear. She described meeting Epstein once: “He was evil personified. I had nightmares about it afterwards.”
Gates credited his former wife for being “always kind of skeptical” about Epstein during their marriage. The couple’s divorce settlement was never publicly disclosed, though Gates transferred billions of dollars in assets to French Gates.
The town hall revelations follow Gates’ cancellation last week of a scheduled keynote speech at India’s AI Impact Summit, just hours before he was set to appear. The billionaire has faced mounting scrutiny since the January release of the Epstein files, which show the two men discussed philanthropic fundraising, Microsoft’s CEO search, and other business matters.
Gates acknowledged to foundation staff that his connection to Epstein contradicts the organization’s values and could impact its reputation-sensitive work in global health and development. The Gates Foundation, launched in 2000, ranks among the world’s largest philanthropic organizations.
Dr. Peter Attia resigned from his position as a CBS News contributor earlier this week after emails involving him appeared in the Epstein files. Harvard University also announced Wednesday that economist Larry Summers would resign from teaching and retire from his faculty appointments at the end of the academic year amid a review of his Epstein connections.
The Gates Foundation previously stated it never paid Epstein or employed him, though a small number of employees interacted with him regarding potential philanthropic funding that never materialized.