Bill Gates expresses regret over time spent with Epstein, denies allegations in newly released files

Bill Gates says he regrets “every minute” he spent with Jeffrey Epstein, following the release of new documents by the US Justice Department that include emails and draft messages linked to the late financier.

The Microsoft co-founder made the remarks in an interview with 9News Australia broadcast on Wednesday, after the latest batch of files related to the Epstein investigation became public.

Among the documents is a draft email in which Epstein alleged that Gates engaged in extramarital affairs and claimed he had assisted Gates in arranging encounters with women and obtaining drugs. The message was never sent.

“That email was never sent. The email is false,” Gates said. “I don’t know what his thinking was there. Was he trying to attack me in some way?”

A spokesperson for Gates issued a similar response, saying the documents show Epstein’s “frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame.”

Epstein, a convicted sex offender, died by suicide in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

Gates said he first met Epstein in 2011 and had several dinners with him over a three-year period. He said he never visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island and denied having relationships with women linked to Epstein.

“The focus was always, he knew a lot of very rich people, and he was saying he could get them to give money to global health. In retrospect, that was a dead end,” Gates said.

Melinda French Gates, who divorced Gates in 2021, told US National Public Radio that the release of the documents revived difficult memories from their marriage.

“For me, it’s personally hard whenever those details come up,” she said. “Whatever questions remain there — those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me.”

The Justice Department files contain communications involving Epstein and a number of public figures. Inclusion of a name in the documents does not by itself indicate wrongdoing, but the records show the extent of Epstein’s connections with prominent individuals, some of whom had previously downplayed or denied contact with him.