Bill Gates

Background

William Henry Gates III was born in Seattle, Washington, in 1955. He co-founded Microsoft with Paul Allen in 1975 and guided the company to become the world’s most valuable technology firm. He relinquished the role of CEO in 2000 and transitioned to full-time philanthropic work through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which he co-chaired with his then-wife Melinda French Gates. The foundation became the world’s largest private charitable organization, with tens of billions in assets focused on global health, poverty reduction, and education.

Gates is one of the most recognizable individuals in the world and a prominent voice in discussions about pandemic preparedness, climate change, and global development financing.

Connection to Epstein

Gates met with Jeffrey Epstein on at least three documented occasions, beginning in 2011, well after Epstein’s 2008 conviction as a registered sex offender. Meetings took place at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, which Gates reportedly visited in the company of JPMorgan executive Jes Staley and other prominent figures. On at least one occasion in 2013, Gates flew on Epstein’s private jet from Teterboro Airport to Palm Beach, a fact confirmed by Gates’s own spokesperson.

Epstein used these meetings — and the implication of Gates’s association — as social proof with institutions such as the MIT Media Lab, where director Joi Ito cited the Gates connection as part of what normalized Epstein in academic circles. Boris Nikolic, who served as Gates’s senior science adviser, was named as a surprise successor executor in Epstein’s will filed two days before his death in 2019. Nikolic publicly declined the role.

The Wall Street Journal reported extensively on the Epstein-Gates relationship, including accounts that Epstein had pitched Gates on a joint charitable structure with JPMorgan and that the relationship contributed to tensions in the Gates marriage. Melinda French Gates cited her husband’s relationship with Epstein as one factor that contributed to her decision to consult divorce attorneys.

Aftermath

Bill and Melinda Gates announced their divorce in May 2021 after 27 years of marriage. The divorce was finalized later that year. Gates has consistently stated that his meetings with Epstein were a “huge mistake” and that they were solely focused on potential philanthropy. He has affirmed he had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal behavior beyond the public record of the 2008 conviction.

Gates continues his philanthropic work through the Gates Foundation and remains one of the world’s most prominent technology investors and global health advocates. He has not faced legal proceedings related to the Epstein case.