Bill Gates has addressed his past friendship with disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein, saying it was a “huge mistake” to associate himself with the convicted child sex offender.
“In retrospect, I was foolish to spend any time with him,” the Microsoft co-founder, 69, told the Wall Street Journal Friday.
“I think I was quite stupid. I thought it would help me with global health philanthropy. In fact, it failed to do that. It was just a huge mistake.”
The billionaire added that after Epstein’s crimes came to light, he “definitely” became more cautious of the people he surrounds himself with.
Epstein died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and federal conspiracy charges in 2019. He was 66.
According to the outlet, Epstein threatened to expose Gates’ alleged affair with Russian bridge player Mila Antonova in 2017 after Gates declined to join his multibillion-dollar charitable fund with JPMorgan Chase.
Epstein had been acquainted with Antonova since 2013 and even funded her enrollment into software coding school.
Gates, for his part, was allegedly embroiled in an affair with Antonova for years during his marriage to Melinda Gates from 1994 to 2021.
In March 2022, Melinda, 60, claimed Epstein played a role in the demise of the duo’s ill-fated 27-year marriage.
During an appearance on “CBS Mornings,” the philanthropist shared that she decided to leave her marriage “for many things,” including her ex-husband’s ties to Epstein.
“I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, no. I made that clear to him,” she said at the time, adding that she only met the late pedophile once because she “wanted to see who” he was.
“I regretted it the second I walked in the door,” she said. “He was abhorrent. He was evil personified. My heart breaks for these women.”
In an interview with the Times of London published Saturday, Bill said his divorce from Melinda will always be the “mistake” he regrets most.
The exes, who share three adult children: Jennifer, 28, Rory, 25, and Phoebe, 22, have since moved on.
Melinda found love with her entrepreneur boyfriend, Philip Vaughn, while Bill is currently dating Paula Hurd.
It’s not the first time Bill has opened up about his former friendship with Epstein.
In 2021, Bill told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that it was a “huge mistake to spend time with him” and “to give him the credibility of being there.”
“There were lots of others in that situation, but I made a mistake,” he said at the time.
“I had several dinners with him hoping that what he said about getting billions of philanthropy for global health through contacts that he had might emerge. When it looked like that wasn’t a real thing, that relationship ended.”
