Bill Gates’ Epstein Connections: New Questions Emerge from Alleged Messages
Recent revelations from CBS have reignited scrutiny of Bill Gates’ past connections with Jeffrey Epstein. The network uncovered alleged messages from 2017 between Epstein and someone purported to be an adviser to Gates, discussing a donor-advised fund that Epstein hoped to operate. These messages are particularly noteworthy as they occurred approximately nine years after Epstein had already pleaded guilty to solicitation charges involving a minor in Florida. While the fund never materialized, the correspondence suggests Gates may have shown interest despite his ex-wife Melinda French Gates’ apparent objections. The reported messages include the adviser telling Epstein that Gates “loves you,” “says hi,” and “feels bad” about the fund not proceeding because his “wife wouldn’t allow” it. This new information has rekindled questions about the extent of Gates’ relationship with the disgraced financier, especially given the Microsoft founder’s previous attempts to distance himself from Epstein.
The significance of these alleged communications extends beyond the Gates-Epstein connection, potentially illustrating how Epstein continued to seek access to powerful and wealthy individuals even after his 2008 conviction. According to the messages, Epstein suggested that Kathryn Ruemmler, former Obama White House counsel and current Goldman Sachs chief legal officer, “would love to sit with Melinda and give her the other side of Jeffrey.” This meeting reportedly never occurred, and Ruemmler has not been accused of wrongdoing. Goldman Sachs previously clarified that Ruemmler’s contact with Epstein related to her work at her former law firm. These revelations come amid a broader release of more than 20,000 pages of Epstein-related documents by Congress, which mention various high-profile figures including Presidents Trump and Clinton, though none have been accused of wrongdoing in relation to Epstein’s crimes.
Gates has consistently attempted to downplay his connection to Epstein since questions first arose. In 2019, he insisted he had “no business relationship or friendship” with Epstein, explaining that “there were people around him who were saying, hey, if you want to raise money for global health and get more philanthropy, he knows a lot of rich people.” However, appointment logs released by Congress in September 2023 showed a tentative breakfast meeting scheduled between Gates and Epstein in 2014, raising questions about the timeline Gates has previously presented. A Gates spokesperson claimed in 2019 that “Epstein misrepresented the nature of his meetings with Gates while also working to insert himself behind-the-scenes without Gates’s knowledge.” By 2021, Gates had shifted to acknowledging that meeting with Epstein was a “huge mistake,” stating that his relationship with Epstein concluded after a series of meetings in 2011—three years after Epstein’s conviction.
The Epstein connection appears to have contributed significantly to Gates’ personal life as well. Melinda French Gates revealed in a 2022 CBS interview that her ex-husband’s relationship with Epstein played a role in their divorce, stating plainly: “I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein… I made that clear to him.” The couple announced their divorce in May 2021 after 27 years of marriage. In response to these revelations, Gates expressed regret, telling Newsweek in 2022: “Meeting with Epstein was a mistake that I regret deeply. It was a substantial error in judgment.” He added, “I will always be sorry for the pain that I caused Melinda and our family,” while acknowledging her work to improve the lives of women and girls around the world—a mission that stands in stark contrast to Epstein’s crimes against young women and girls.
These new disclosures come at a time when public pressure for transparency regarding Epstein’s connections has intensified. Just days before the CBS report, lawmakers in both chambers of Congress voted by wide margins to compel the Justice Department to make its Epstein records public. President Trump signed this bill on Wednesday, initiating a 30-day timeline for the Department of Justice to release these files. The timing of these revelations underscores the ongoing public interest in understanding the full extent of Epstein’s network and how he maintained relationships with prominent figures even after his initial conviction. The Gates-Epstein connection represents just one facet of this larger story, but it highlights how even one of the world’s most admired philanthropists found himself entangled—whether through naivety, poor judgment, or other factors—with a figure whose crimes have shocked the world.
The evolving narrative of Bill Gates’ connections to Jeffrey Epstein demonstrates the complex nature of reputation and judgment in public life. Gates, who has devoted much of his fortune to global health and poverty reduction, has seen his image complicated by these associations. Whether these newly reported messages substantially change our understanding of their relationship remains to be seen, but they certainly add nuance to a story Gates has been trying to put behind him for years. As more Epstein-related documents become public in the coming weeks, additional details may emerge about this and other high-profile connections to the disgraced financier, potentially reshaping public understanding of how Epstein operated within elite circles even after his crimes had become a matter of public record.
