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BILL Gates has acknowledged that his association with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was a “huge mistake”, telling employees of the Gates Foundation that he takes responsibility for his actions.
Reuters cited a spokesperson for the Gates Foundation confirming that Gates addressed the issue candidly during a scheduled town hall meeting with staff, following renewed scrutiny after documents were released by the US Department of Justice.
“In the town hall, Bill spoke candidly, addressing several questions in detail, and took responsibility for his actions,” the spokesperson said in a written statement, adding that this would be the foundation’s only comment on the matter.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, which cited a recording of the internal meeting, Gates apologised to staff for his past interactions with Epstein, including bringing foundation executives to meetings with him after Epstein had served a prison sentence.
“I apologise to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made,” Gates said, according to the newspaper.
The report stated that Gates described spending time with Epstein as a serious error and acknowledged that he had two affairs with Russian women that Epstein later learned of, though he maintained these did not involve any of Epstein’s victims.
“I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” Gates told staff, according to the Journal. “To be clear I never spent any time with victims, the women around him,” he added.
Documents released by the Department of Justice indicate that Gates and Epstein met on multiple occasions after Epstein’s prison term, reportedly to discuss expanding philanthropic initiatives.
The materials also included photographs of the Microsoft founder posing with women whose faces were redacted.
Gates was quoted as saying that the images were taken at Epstein’s request with his assistants following meetings.
Gates has previously stated that his relationship with Epstein was limited to philanthropy-related discussions and that meeting him was a mistake.
Earlier this month, the Gates Foundation reiterated that it had never made financial payments to Epstein nor employed him in any capacity.
Founded in 2000 by Bill Gates and his then-wife, the Gates Foundation remains one of the world’s largest funders of global health and development initiatives. - February 25, 2026