Bill Gates Apologizes for Association with Jeffrey Epstein, Admits Making Mistakes

American tech entrepreneur Bill Gates has apologised to staff at the Gates Foundation for his past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and insisted that he did “nothing illicit,” according to report. The Microsoft co-founder also acknowledged having two affairs with Russian women and said he had made mistakes that affected the reputation of the philanthropic organisation. However, he maintained that he had no involvement in Epstein’s crimes Gates was among many celebrities, politicians, business leaders and technology executives whose connections to Epstein appeared in thousands of documents released online last month by the US Justice Department. Epstein files, includes emails, interview transcripts, photographs and call records, with some names redacted. At a town hall meeting on Tuesday (February 25, 2026), Gates told employees that he had two affairs with Russian women that Epstein later came to know about, but said the relationships had no connection to Epstein’s victims. “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” Gates said, according to a recording reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Gates said that photographs in the recently released Epstein files showing him with unidentified women were taken at Epstein’s request with Epstein’s assistants after meetings. “To be clear, I never spent any time with victims, the women around him,” Gates said. Gates said that meeting Epstein and introducing Gates Foundation executives to him was a serious error. “It was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein,” and bring Gates Foundation executives into meetings with the sex offender, Gates said. “I apologise to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made,” The Wall Street Journal quoted him as saying. He said he first met Epstein in 2011, three years after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution. Gates admitted that he did not properly examine Epstein’s background and continued meeting him even after learning about the restrictions on Epstein’s travel following his conviction. Gates also said he kept meeting Epstein after his then-wife, Melinda French Gates, raised concerns in 2013. Speaking about her, he added, “To give her credit, she was always kind of sceptical about the Epstein thing.” According to The Wall Street Journal, Gates told staff that he continued meeting Epstein until 2014. During this period, he travelled with Epstein on a private jet and met him in Germany, France, New York and Washington. “I never stayed overnight,” he said, and added that he never visited Epstein’s island. Gates said that his association with Epstein and the emails revealed in the Justice Department files had damaged the reputation of the Gates Foundation. “It definitely is the opposite of the values of the Foundation and the goals of the Foundation,” he said. “And our work is very reputation-sensitive. I mean, people can choose to work with us or not work with us.”