Bill Gates raised eyebrows Tuesday with his awkward response to a question about his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Woodruff began by noting that Gates had met with Epstein on a number of occasions — meetings that Gates has said were an effort to convince the financier to partner with him in raising funds to help combat global health issues — and pointed out that even when they met, Epstein had already been convicted of soliciting prostitution from minors. (RELATED: Here’s Everything We Know About Bill Gates’ Friendship With Jeffrey Epstein)
Woodruff asked what Gates knew about Epstein prior to those meetings, and Gates said that he had ultimately cut off the meetings because Epstein had not delivered on the connections he claimed to have and that he regretted having the meetings.
Judy Woodruff: Do you draw any lessons from the mistakes you made with Jeffrey Epstein?
Bill Gates: “Well, he’s dead, so…” pic.twitter.com/HSLYahGtKJ
— Teddy Schleifer (@teddyschleifer) September 21, 2021
“Is there a lesson for you — for anyone else looking at this?” Woodruff asked Gates during an appearance on “PBS Newshour.”
“Well, he’s dead, so … In general, you always have to be careful,” Gates said, abruptly changing the subject to talk about his foundation and how proud he was of the philanthropic contributions he had been able to make through his foundation over the years.