Bill Gates, the American tech entrepreneur, has apologised to staff at the Gates Foundation for his past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, while insisting he did “nothing illicit,” according to media reports. The Microsoft co-founder acknowledged during a town hall meeting that his connection with Epstein was a “huge mistake” and said it had cast a shadow over the foundation’s reputation. Gates, according to an exclusive report by the Wall Street Journal, told employees during the town hall: "I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit."
"To be clear, I never spent any time with victims, the women around him," he added.
Gates said that photographs in the recently released “Epstein files,” showing him with women whose faces were redacted, were taken at Epstein’s request with his assistants following meetings.
“I apologise to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made,” the Journal quoted Gates as saying.
A spokesperson for the Gates Foundation told Reuters that Gates “spoke candidly, addressed several questions in detail, and took responsibility for his actions.”
Gates first met Epstein in 2011, three years after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution and continued meeting him until 2014, according to the Journal. He admitted that he did not “properly check” Epstein’s background, even though he was aware of the “18-month thing” that had restricted Epstein’s travel.
Gates also said he continued meeting Epstein even after his then-wife, Melinda French Gates, raised concerns in 2013.
“To give her credit, she was always kind of sceptical about the Epstein thing,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Bill Gates flew on a private jet with Jeffrey Epstein and met him in Germany, France, New York, and Washington. Gates, however, said, “I never stayed overnight,” and did not visit Epstein’s private island.
Epstein died by suicide in a New York jail cell in August 2019, about a month after he was indicted on federal sex trafficking charges, according to US media reports.
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