Bill Gates admits to affairs with Russian women and apologizes for Epstein ties

Bill Gates set the record straight about his ties with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a town hall meeting with his staff at the Gates Foundation, before admitting to two extra-marital affairs with two Russian women around the 2010s. A spokesperson for the foundation released a statement after the meeting concluded, sharing insight into what was discussed. 

"This was a scheduled town hall with employees, which Bill does twice a year," the statement read. "In the conversation, Bill answered questions submitted by foundation staff on a range of issues, including the release of the Epstein files, the foundation's work in AI, and the future of global health."

"In the town hall, Bill spoke candidly, addressing several questions in detail, and took responsibility for his actions."

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According to the Wall Street Journal, Bill told his employees: "I did have affairs, one with a Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist whom I met through business activities."

"I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit," he clarified in reference to Jeffrey, adding that it was a "huge mistake" to spend time with him. "To be clear, I never spent any time with the victims, the women around him."

Gates has not been accused of any wrongdoing by any victims, and apologized to his team for drawing them "into this because of the mistake I made". The 70-year-old shared that he had met Epstein for the first time in 2011, after the financier promised to help him expand his philanthropic work and connect him with more donors.

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He added that he remained in contact with Epstein after their first meeting and often traveled to meet him in various countries, although he never stayed overnight or visited Epstein Island, as he told staff. Gates admitted that his ex-wife, Melinda French, was never comfortable with his friendship with Epstein. "To give her credit, she was always kind of sceptical about the Epstein thing," he said. The couple divorced in May 2021 after 27 years of marriage.

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After Bill Gates' name appeared in the Epstein Files in 2026, Melinda shared that the files' release by the Department of Justice brought up "painful times in my marriage".  

"I am so happy to be away from all the muck," she said in an interview with NPR. "Whatever questions remain there of what – I can't even begin to know all of it – those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me."

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In previous documents released by the DOJ, Gates can be seen posing with women whose faces are redacted, which he claimed in the town hall meeting had occurred when Epstein asked him to take photos with his assistants at the end of their meetings.

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The billionaire was named in the latest drop of the Epstein Files when Epstein accused Gates in what seemed to be a 2013 draft email of asking for help after allegedly contracting a sexually transmitted infection from "Russian girls."

Epstein's representative shared a statement denying these allegations shortly thereafter. "These claims – from a proven, disgruntled liar – are absolutely absurd and completely false. The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein's frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Bill and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame."