Gates Apologises for Epstein Ties, Admits 2 Russian Affairs

Gates' Epstein Regret

In a town hall, the Microsoft co-founder conceded that his involvement with Epstein was a “huge mistake,” and said it had clouded the philanthropic organisation’s reputation.
During the internal meeting, Gates reportedly told staff, spending time with Epstein and involving senior Foundation executives in meetings with him was a huge mistake. He apologised to employees in the organisation and also apologised to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made. 

Affairs Revealed

Gates said the two affairs of which Epstein later became aware were unrelated to Epstein’s criminal behaviour and did not affect any of the victims.
“I did have affairs, one with a Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist who I met through business activities,” he said.

No Foundation Funds

Documents sent to the DOJ indicate Gates and Epstein met several times after Epstein was released from prison to talk about expanding the Microsoft founder’s charitable work. But earlier this month, the Foundation said it never paid any money at all to Epstein and had never employed him.
The scrutiny of Gates came after US Department of Justice records and images detailing several meetings between Gates and Epstein emerged. Among the images were of women with their faces redacted, as they posed with the Microsoft co-founder.

Summit Pullout

Earlier, Gates cancelled his appearance at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 . He had been scheduled to address the high-profile event as a leading global voice on technology and philanthropy. But soon before his anticipated speech, a news announcement from the Gates Foundation said he was no longer participating.
The Foundation said in a statement its decision had been made to keep the focus on the core agenda of the summit, not on the controversy that surrounded it.