Bill Gates’ apology comes after acknowledging personal failings during a tense town hall at the Gates Foundation. The billionaire admitted to extramarital affairs while firmly denying any improper conduct tied to Jeffrey Epstein. 70-year-old Gates said he “did nothing illicit” and apologized to employees for the controversy surrounding his past association with the disgraced financier.
Bill Gates Renders Apology, Admits ‘A Huge Mistake’
Speaking to staff, Gates addressed both his relationship with Epstein and revelations about two affairs with Russian women. According to a recording cited by The Wall Street Journal, he described it as a “huge mistake” to spend time with Epstein and to bring foundation executives into meetings with him.
“I apologise to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made,” Gates said. He also confirmed:
“I did have affairs, one with a Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist who I met through business activities.”
Gates insisted the relationships had no connection to Epstein’s victims. “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” he said. “To be clear, I never spent any time with the victims, the women around him.”
Reflecting on his continued contact with Epstein after the financier’s 2008 conviction, Gates admitted he failed to fully scrutinize his background. “Knowing what I know now makes it, you know, a hundred times worse in terms of not only his crimes in the past, but now it’s clear there was ongoing bad behavior,” he told staff.
He added, “I never stayed overnight,” and credited his former wife, saying, “To give her credit, she was always kind of skeptical about the Epstein thing.”
Public Reaction Grows Increasingly Skeptical
The public response has been swift and sharp. “That whole situation just feels messy all around. The Epstein connection alone was a terrible look, and adding the affairs on top of it doesn’t exactly help,” one commenter wrote on Reddit.
Others questioned the allegedly strategic timing of the admissions. “If I admit to the Russian women, maybe people won’t ask questions about other, far worse things,” another post read. A separate remark cut straight to the point: “This is what he’s comfortable with admitting.”
One particularly explosive claim also surfaced: “He allegedly caught a STD from one of them and accidentally gave it to Melinda too, if Epstein’s own email that he had in his drafts folder is to be believed.”
While Gates sought to draw a firm line between his personal misconduct and Epstein’s criminal activity, the backlash suggests the controversy is far from settled.
