Bill Gates has admitted to three extramarital affairs during a congressional hearing focused on his association with Jeffrey Epstein.
The 70-year-old Microsoft founder testified before the House Oversight Committee on June 10, with the transcript released earlier this month revealing the identities of two women for the first time.
Mr Gates confirmed relationships with Alice Jacobs Nesselrodt, a medical entrepreneur holding a Harvard Medical School doctorate, and Karima Nigmatulina, a Russian nuclear scientist.
Mr Gates's association with Jeffrey Epstein was widely considered a significant factor in Melinda Gates's decision to end their 27-year marriage in 2021.
Mr Gates maintained a friendship with Epstein for years despite the late financier being a registered sex offender, and told Congress he regretted ever meeting him.
The third woman involved was Mila Antonova, a Russian bridge player three decades younger than Mr Gates, whom he described to the committee as a "serious bridge player".
Dr Jacobs, who now heads her own medical consulting firm, Convergence Group, began her relationship with Mr Gates before 2010.
Mr Gates encountered Dr Nigmatulina through her professional work in disease modelling and nuclear fission research at TerraPower, a company in which he held substantial investments.
He confirmed that one sexual encounter with Dr Nigmatulina took place in London, a detail referenced in three million Epstein emails released by the Department of Justice this year.
Mr Gates confessed the Dr Nigmatulina and Ms Antonova affairs to Melinda in 2013, which he acknowledged was "very distressing to her", though divorce was not discussed at that time.
The committee examined evidence suggesting Epstein became aware of Mr Gates's infidelities through Boris Nikolic, a former Gates Foundation science adviser who served as a crucial link between the billionaire and the convicted paedophile.
Dr Jacobs had established contact with Epstein in October 2009 and subsequently introduced him to Dr Nikolic.
Epstein drafted an email to himself in 2013, written as though from Dr Nikolic's perspective and titled "Bill".
It said: "You also made it clear to me that I am not to refer to Alice Jacobs as that is another topic that must remain between the two of us."
When pressed about this message, Mr Gates responded: "Well, there was a time when I had an affair with Dr Jacobs. So that may fit that category."
Mr Gates acknowledged that while he was never actually blackmailed, Epstein appeared to be contemplating such action.
He told the committee: "I was not blackmailed, but, you know, as you look at these emails, you know, it looks like Mr Epstein's brainstorming was going in that direction."
Following Mr Gates's decision to sever ties with Epstein in 2014, the financier demanded reimbursement for expenses connected to Ms Antonova, but Mr Gates instructed his advisers they would "never going to pay anything".
The hearing also addressed allegations contained in Epstein's self-addressed email, which claimed Mr Gates had requested Dr Nikolic delete messages concerning an STD and covert medication for Melinda.
Mr Gates firmly denied these claims: "I never had an STD. I never described my penis to Dr Nikolic."
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