Bill Gates Admits Epstein Blackmailed Him Over Extramarital Affair
Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Bill Gates has revealed that the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein attempted to blackmail him. Epstein, who died in New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center in 2019, used information regarding Gates’s private life.
The admission was made in testimony before the United States House Oversight Committee, the transcript of which was released to the public on Wednesday. In his statement, Gates said Epstein tried to “exploit information about his extramarital affair to pressure him into re-establishing a relationship and communication”.
“Epstein tried to use information about my affair, along with many lies he added, to pressure me into reconnecting with him,” Gates told US lawmakers. “He failed in this attempt,” he stressed.
The testimony emerged amid renewed scrutiny of the relationship between Gates and Epstein after the US Department of Justice released documents related to the Epstein case last year. The documents contained various allegations regarding Gates’s private life, including extramarital affairs, alleged drug use, sexually transmitted diseases, and accusations of involvement with Russian women.
Gates acknowledged having had relationships with two adult Russian women. However, he insisted that these relationships were in no way connected to Epstein’s criminal network. He also strongly denied other allegations contained in the documents, including alleged drug use and sexually transmitted diseases.
According to Gates, he began interacting with Epstein in 2011 despite being aware of his criminal record. At the time, Gates hoped to gain access to wealthy donors to support various global health projects run by the Gates Foundation. However, the relationship ended in 2014 after Epstein failed to deliver on various promises he had made. Gates said that afterwards, Epstein obtained sensitive information about his private life and tried to use it as leverage.
Gates also denied ever visiting Epstein’s private island, ranch, or Florida home. He insisted Epstein never introduced him to women for sexual purposes, arranged massages, or involved him in criminal activities. Gates’s years-long association with Epstein has long raised public questions, given that Epstein had no background in public health, despite being involved in discussions on global health projects, polio eradication, health data systems, and pandemic simulations. Gates maintained that all meetings were solely aimed at seeking funding support for philanthropic activities, though they ultimately yielded no donations.
The Epstein scandal has drawn renewed attention to how the convicted sex offender managed to maintain relationships with a number of influential world figures following his 2008 conviction. Besides Gates, other prominent names questioned in the Congressional investigation include former US President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Ghislaine Maxwell, and billionaire Les Wexner.