Bill Gates told lawmakers behind closed doors on June 10 that Jeffrey Epstein tried to use knowledge of his extramarital affairs to pressure him, as part of a House Oversight Committee interview about the late financier’s conduct and connections.
The Microsoft co-founder said in his prepared remarks that he “should never have met with Epstein in the first place,” and that he never witnessed or had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct.
According to the transcript of the transcribed interview, Gates said Epstein had learned about “sensitive information” from his personal life and appeared to be “brainstorming” ways to leverage it. Gates said he was not blackmailed, but that Epstein seemed to be moving in that direction.
Melinda French Gates, whom he married on New Year’s Day in 1994, was said to have been aware of the relationships at the time.
The pair were married for 27 years before finalizing their divorce in 2021. Melinda later said the split followed a build-up of irreconcilable issues, including Gates’ admitted infidelity.
During the interview, Gates acknowledged relationships with three women that he said Epstein had learned about: Russian bridge player Mila Antonova, Russian nuclear scientist Karima Nigmatulina, and medical entrepreneur Dr Alice Jacobs Nesselrodt.
Reports about the hearing said lawmakers also pressed Gates on a July 2013 email Epstein sent to himself that referenced Gates’ personal life. Gates reportedly said that when shown the message, it fit with the period in which he had an affair with Dr Nesselrodt.
Gates also said the affairs were unrelated to Epstein’s criminal activity and that they had been painful for his family.
The committee’s interview was part of a broader examination of Epstein’s network and the federal government’s handling of the case.
Gates has previously said meeting Epstein was a “grave error in judgment,” and that he regrets ever having done so.