Bill Gates wanted Epstein to 'rehabilitate his image' so he could get ‘involved’ with his charity: Report
Billionaire Bill Gates reportedly urged late pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein to revamp his public image so he could be a part of the Microsoft founder's nonprofit.
According to The Daily Beast, Gates would often meet with Epstein at his mansion in New York to discuss their private lives as well as plans to work together at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The report suggests that these meetings were one of the main reasons why Bill and Melinda Gates decided to go their separate ways and get a divorce.
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Gates reportedly “encouraged Epstein to rehabilitate his image in the media following his 2008 guilty plea for soliciting a minor for prostitution, and discussed Epstein becoming involved with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation," per the outlet. The tech mogul frequented the hedge fund honcho's New York mansion partly as a getaway from his strained marriage with Melinda, an anonymous source who claimed to have joined Gates and Epstein at the property multiple times told the Beast.
“[It’s] not an overstatement. Going to Jeffrey’s was a respite from his marriage. It was a way of getting away from Melinda,” the source said, adding that Gates and Epstein had become very close.
Meanwhile, a former employee of the Gates Foundation said that Gates met with Epstein to gain access to some of the latter's powerful and influential friends. “My understanding was he wasn’t hanging out with Epstein to get women,” the employee said on condition of anonymity.
Gates denied the allegations reported by the Beast through a spokesperson. “Your characterization of his meetings with Epstein and others about philanthropy is inaccurate, including who participated. Similarly, any claim that Gates spoke of his marriage or Melinda in a disparaging manner is false,” a Gates representative told the Beast. “Bill never received or solicited personal advice of any kind from Epstein— on marriage or anything else. Bill never complained about Melinda or his marriage to Epstein.”
Gates strongly denied discussing with Epstein about getting involved with his nonprofit. The Microsoft founder also disputed the number of times he met with the convicted sex offender.
Gates resigned from Microsoft on March 13, 2020, after board members reportedly wanted to push him out over an affair he allegedly had with an employee beginning in 2000 and lasting for years afterward. In 2019, the female employee wrote a letter to Microsoft detailing the affair, after which the company decided to hire an outside law firm to probe the claims.
“There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably,” a Gates spokeswoman said. “[Gates’] decision to transition off the board was in no way related to this matter. In fact, he had expressed an interest in spending more time on his philanthropy starting several years earlier.”
Bill and Melinda Gates made their divorce public earlier this month.
“After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” the former couple said in a joint statement. “Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives.”
“We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives,” they added. “We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.”
