Bill Gates has described his relationship with the late billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein as a “huge mistake”.
Gates’ relationship with Epstein begun after Epstein had been convicted of sex crimes involving underage girls. The two met on numerous occasions starting in 2011, including at least three times at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse.
The billionaire philanthropist made his comments during a television interview which was aired this week just days after his divorce from ex-wife Melinda French Gates was finalised.
Melinda was said to have been furious when she found out about her ex husbands relationship with the convicted pedophile.
She hired a divorce lawyers in 2019 after the meetings that Gates had with Epstein became public.
Al Jazeera reports: Gates told CNN in an interview broadcast on Wednesday that he regretted his meetings with the notorious hedge fund manager, who was found dead in his jail cell in August 2019 after federal prosecutors in New York indicted him for operating a child sex trafficking ring and abusing dozens of underage girls. Epstein’s death was ruled a suicide by hanging.
A decade earlier, Epstein had registered as a sex offender as part of a controversial deal struck with a prosecutor in Miami to avoid federal charges at the time.
Epstein had years earlier plead guilty to charges of soliciting prostitution from a minor when Gates started meeting with him.
The billionaire philanthropist said the meetings were motivated by his desire to raise money for global health issues.
“I had several dinners with him, you know, hoping that what he said about getting billions of philanthropy for global health through contacts that he had might emerge,” Gates told CNN. “When it looked like that wasn’t a real thing, that relationship ended.”
Gates would not comment to CNN on a Wall Street Journal report that his relationship with Epstein had a hand in his divorce.
In 2019, The New York Times reported that Gates had met with Epstein on numerous occasions starting in 2011, including three times at Epstein’s New York townhouse.
The 27-year marriage of Bill and Melinda Gates formally came to an end on Monday, court documents showed.
Since the couple announced their split in May, reports have surfaced of questionable conduct involving Bill Gates, including an affair he had with a Microsoft employee almost 20 years ago, and his handling of a sexual harassment claim against his long-time wealth manager.