Bill Gates has denied ever visiting Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean island, while acknowledging that his association with the disgraced financier helped to enhance Epstein’s reputation.
The Microsoft co-founder made the comments during an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, in which he was questioned about the meetings he held with Epstein over several years.
Gates appeared uneasy as he discussed the relationship, saying: “I really appreciated the chance to go in front of Congress and make it clear, uh, you know, to go through every meeting I have with him – which is about 10 meetings over a couple-year period.”
He added: “I never, there were never any women in those meetings, there’s nothing financially, I never went to the island or anything like that.”
The island was the private property in the Caribbean owned by Epstein, who was accused in federal investigations, civil lawsuits and victims’ testimonies of trafficking, abusing and exploiting underage girls and women there.
Gates, 70, appeared before the House Oversight Committee for a closed-door deposition in June about his connection to Epstein. He has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said he never witnessed any criminal activity.
Bill Gates’s explanation for his meetings with Epstein
Gates said he had initially been told that Epstein could help raise billions of dollars for global health, without receiving payment or holding an official role.
“That proved to be a complete dead end,” he said. “So my spending time with him, like many other people, kind of helped his reputation. You know, that’s very regrettable.”
Epstein, who was found hanging in his federal jail cell in 2019, had maintained relationships with a number of prominent figures. Gates remained in contact with him for years despite Epstein being a registered sex offender.
Following Epstein’s death, Gates apologised repeatedly for the friendship and told Congress that he wished they had never met. He has described the association as a “grave error in judgment”.
Gates’s former wife, Melinda French Gates, has also spoken publicly about her reaction to Epstein. In an interview in June, she described feeling that he was “evil” when she met him.
She said: “Have you ever in your life been around somebody that you just know is evil?”
Claims about Gates’s alleged relationships with Russian women and an alleged sexually transmitted infection were contained in emails Epstein wrote to himself in 2013. The claims were later reported as part of the material made public.
Gates subsequently addressed staff at the Gates Foundation in a private meeting. He reportedly acknowledged having two affairs with the women referred to in Epstein’s correspondence.
Gates and French Gates’s marriage later broke down amid revelations about his extramarital affairs. Melinda French Gates resigned as co-chair of the foundation in 2024.
