Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates told House lawmakers Wednesday that late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein used the billionaire philanthropist’s marital infidelities “to pressure me to re-engage with him.”
The startling comment was delivered in Mr. Gates’ opening statement to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is interviewing Mr. Gates behind closed doors in its probe into Epstein and his sex trafficking crimes.
Mr. Gates is among a string of high-profile witnesses summoned to the panel to discuss Epstein. Mr. Gates and Epstein, a wealthy financial financier, were known to associate for years and Mr. Gates appeared in photos from the Epstein files alongside unidentified women.
Mr. Gates told the panel he “never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct.”
Mr. Gates, who flew aboard Epstein’s private jet, said he never traveled to Epstein’s island in the Bahamas, nor did he visit his ranch or Florida home.
“I have never victimized anyone,” Mr. Gates said.
As for his friendship with Epstein, Mr. Gates said, there was none. The two only interacted about his charity.
“While he may have sought to foster a personal relationship, I was never interested in that and never reciprocated,” Mr. Gates told lawmakers.
Mr. Gates was married to Melinda French Gates from 1994 until their divorce after 27 years in 2021. The couple has three grown children. In recent years, Mr. Gates revealed he had affairs with a Microsoft employee and two Russian women that Epstein found out about.
Mr. Gates said he met Epstein in 2011 and was interested in Epstein’s claim that he could steer donations from his wealthy friends toward Mr. Gates’s global health organization. The donations never materialized, Mr. Gates said, and by 2014 he had broken off contact with Epstein.
After that, Mr. Gates said, the two became entangled again because one of Mr. Gates’s employees who was leaving the organization had consulted with Epstein about his employment separation.
“His involvement resulted in email exchanges, calls, and meetings with members of my team and me,” Mr. Gates said, adding that he did not want or need Epstein’s consultation.
“It was after this that I learned Epstein had become aware of sensitive information about my personal life, including the fact that I had been unfaithful in my marriage,” Mr. Gates said. “These affairs had nothing to do with my interactions with Epstein, but they were painful for my family. As the public can now see, based on what has been released in the files, Epstein was working to use information about my infidelities — in addition to many lies that he layered on top — to pressure me to re-engage with him.”
Mr. Gates said the tactic didn’t work, but demonstrated Epstein’s efforts to “leverage his interactions with me to further his agenda.”
Epstein committed suicide in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019, not long after he was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges.
Mr. Gates said he was unaware of the details of Epstein’s 2008 plea deal in Florida on charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor when he met Epstein in 2011.
He said he was lured into the relationship by Epstein’s promise, which turned out to be false, that he could steer billions of dollars into Mr. Gates’ global health organization.
“I recall being aware that Epstein had faced prior legal issues, but I did not fully understand the extent of the crimes he committed,” Mr. Gates said. “I accepted the introduction without applying the scrutiny I should have.”
Some lawmakers believe Epstein trafficked the girls, many of them underage, to a wealthy and powerful list of clients. No client list has ever been found, but Epstein’s victims say they were told to engage in sexual activity with powerful men.
“Gates welcomes the opportunity to appear before the Committee. While he never witnessed or participated in any of Epstein’s illegal conduct, he is looking forward to answering all the committee’s questions to support their important work,” a Gates spokesperson said.
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