Billionaire Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates said he “shouldn’t have had dinners” with Jeffrey Epstein.
Gates was interviewed by Australian outlet ABC 7.30 in a wide-ranging discussion with presenter Sarah Ferguson. She asked Gates if he regrets his relationship with Epstein. (RELATED: Bill Gates Says China’s Rise Is ‘A Huge Win For The World’)
“I shouldn’t have had dinners with him.” – @billgates on his association with Jeffrey Epstein #abc730 pic.twitter.com/xdqHjyVv3U
— abc730 (@abc730) January 30, 2023
“You’re going way back in time, but yeah I will say it for the over 100th time, yeah, I shouldn’t have had dinners with him,” Gates said. Ferguson followed up with a question about Gates’ ex-wife, Melinda, warning him about spending time with Epstein.
“No, I had dinner with him, and that’s all,” Gates responded. He was also asked about whether Epstein had connections to The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, his philanthropic effort with his ex-wife.
“That I had dinner with him? There never was any relationship of any kind,” Gates said.
Gates reportedly first met Epstein in 2011, after Epstein had been convicted of sex crimes in Florida, according to the New York Times. He was pictured in Epstein’s infamous Manhattan mansion in 2011 alongside a science adviser to his foundation and other powerful individuals.
Gates has repeatedly denied having a friendship or business relationship with Epstein. “I met him. I didn’t have any business relationship or friendship with him,” he told The Wall Street Journal in 2019. Epstein allegedly directed a $2 million donation from Gates to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, according to The New Yorker.
Epstein committed suicide in a New York City jail while awaiting trial for sex trafficking charges in 2019. Epstein’s longtime partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking charges in June of 2022, according to the DOJ.
Bill and Melinda Gates officially divorced in 2021 after 27 years, due, in part, to his connection with Epstein, Melinda told CBS News. The couple continue to work together on the Gates Foundation and have three children.