JAKARTA - Microsoft founder and world philanthropist, Bill Gates admitted that he had a relationship with two Russian women while still married to Melinda French Gates.
On the same occasion, he also apologized to his foundation staff for his past relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Gates' admission was made during an internal meeting (town hall) with Gates Foundation employees on Tuesday, February 24. In a recording reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Gates confirmed that he had not done anything illegal.
"I didn't do anything illegal. I also didn't see anything illegal," the 70-year-old billionaire said, quoted from People's website.
Gates' spokesperson explained that the meeting was a routine agenda that was held twice a year. In the question and answer session, Gates answered various questions from staff, including about the newly released Epstein case documents, the foundation's work in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), and the future of global health. He was also said to speak openly and take responsibility for his past actions.
The spotlight on Gates' relationship with Jeffrey Epstein has intensified again after the United States Department of Justice released a number of old documents. In an email draft written by Epstein, he accused Gates of contracting a sexually transmitted disease from Russian women and asked for his help to hide it from his then-wife.
Previously, Gates' spokesman had denied the allegations and called them "absurd and completely untrue."
But in the latest meeting, Gates admitted to having had a relationship with a Russian bridge player he met at a card game, as well as a Russian nuclear physicist he knew through business activities.
According to a 2023 report by The Wall Street Journal, the bridge player is Mila Antonova, who met Gates around 2010 when she was in her 20s.
Gates assured staff that he had never spent time with the victims or the women who were around Epstein.
He also said that spending time with Epstein after their first meeting in 2011 was a big mistake. At that time, Epstein had actually pleaded guilty to a case of child prostitution.
Gates said their friendship lasted until 2014, but he never stayed with Epstein or visited his famous private island.
"I apologize to the people who were dragged along because of the mistakes I made," Gates said.
Previously, Gates explained that his goal for meeting Epstein was to seek funding support for philanthropic activities, especially in the field of global health. He assessed that, with Epstein's connections to many wealthy people, there was an opportunity to raise donations. However, he later admitted that the effort was a dead end.
Gates also admitted that he did not conduct a thorough background check on Epstein, despite knowing that Epstein had served a sentence that restricted his travel for about 18 months.
"With what I know now, it all feels a hundred times worse. Not only about his past crimes, but also because it is now clear that there is still bad behavior going on," he said.
On that occasion, Gates also alluded to his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, who officially separated from him in 2021. He said Melinda was skeptical of Epstein from the start. Not long ago, Melinda also stated that Gates needed to provide an explanation for his relationship with Epstein.
At the end of his statement, Gates acknowledged that his past with Epstein and the newly revealed emails had cast a negative shadow over the reputation of the Gates Foundation.
"This is clearly against the values and goals of the foundation. Our work depends heavily on reputation. People can choose to work with us or not," he said.
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