Bill Gates wanted to use Jeffrey Epstein’s connections to get himself a Nobel Prize, the billionaire’s ex-staffer said, The Daily Beast reported Tuesday.

Members of Gates Foundation were assured that Gates‘ relationship with Epstein “was a maneuver” aimed at a Nobel Peace Prize, the former employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said, according to The Daily Beast.

Bill Gates had his eyes on the Nobel Prize and he looked to Jeffrey Epstein to help lock it down https://t.co/uSxi7HOs36

— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) May 18, 2021

Gates and Epstein held several meetings starting in 2011, three years after Epstein had pleaded guilty to soliciting a young girl, The New York Times reported. Gates reportedly said that Epstein’s “lifestyle is very different and kind of intriguing although it would not work for me,” in an email sent to colleagues at the time.

A 2013 meeting between Gates and the convicted sex criminal caused major issues in the relationship of the tech mogul with Melinda Gates which may have ultimately led to the couple’s early May divorce announcement, the Daily Beast reported.

“We were aware of things that were potential reputational risks for the foundation and the co-chairs, Bill and Melinda,” the ex-staffer told The Daily Beast. “Even back then, people knew this guy wasn’t squeaky clean.”

“He [Gates] thought that Jeffrey would be able to help him, that he would know the right people, or some kind of way to massage things, so he could get the Nobel Peace Prize, which is what Bill wants more than anything else in the world,” the former employee said.

“I think he was ultimately disappointed it didn’t work out,” he added. (RELATED: ‘This Guy Saves Countries’: Joy Behar Blows Off Bill Gates’ ‘Personal Peccadilloes’ — Like Ties To Epstein)

Nobel laureates Frank Wilczek, Gerald Edelman and Murray Gell-Mann were reportedly among the prominent scientists  Epstein was familiar with.

Another influential acquaintance of Epstein — Norwegian Nobel Committee’s then-chairman Thorbjørn Jagland — hosted Gates and Epstein in his home in Strasbourg, France, in 2013, Dagens Næringsliv, Norway’s largest business newspaper, reported in 2020.

Bill Gates’ spokesperson has denied the allegations.

“While a Nobel Prize would certainly be a great honor, it is false to state that Bill Gates was ‘obsessed’ with the honor, set it as a goal, or campaigned for it in any way,” the spokesperson reportedly told The Daily Beast. “If Epstein had a plan or motivation to insert himself into any processes related to any awards or honors on behalf of Gates, neither Gates nor anyone he works with was aware of his intentions and they would have rejected any offers for assistance.”