Bill Gates said in an interview that he regrets spending time with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Microsoft founder's name appears several times in the latest release of documents related to the New York financier, who died by suicide in 2019 while in jail for federal sex trafficking charges.
Gates denied any allegations of wrongdoing.
Emails attributed to Epstein in 2013 suggest Gates had additional affairs and sought medication for a sexually transmitted infection without his then wife's knowledge.
"Apparently, Jeffrey wrote an email to himself. Ah, that email was never sent," Gates said in an interview with 9News Australia.
"The email is false. So I don't know what his thinking was there," he continued.
"It just reminds me that every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologize I did that."
Gates, 70, said he first met Epstein in 2011, hoping Epstein could introduce him to other wealthy people who would donate to his foundation.
Epstein was convicted in 2008 of soliciting prostitution from a minor.
"It's factually true that I was only at dinners. I never went to the island; I never met any women," Gates said.
"And the more that comes out, the more clear it will be that although the time was a mistake, it had nothing to do with that kind of behavior," he added.
"The focus was always he knew a lot of very rich people and he was always saying he could get them to give money to global health," Gates said of Epstein.
"You know, in retrospect, that was a dead end, and I was foolish to spend time with him. I was one of many people who regret ever knowing him."
Gates' comments come as Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., asked House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., to subpoena Gates to testify under oath about his relationship with Epstein.
"If these allegations are false, Bill Gates should have no problem saying so under oath before Congress," Mace said.
"The American people deserve answers about why one of the richest and most powerful people in the world was so cozy with a convicted child sex trafficker," she continued.
"We intend to get to the bottom of the entire Epstein saga and hold those accountable who think they're above the law.
"Nobody gets a free pass — not billionaires, not Hollywood, not anybody. Bill Gates needs to testify under oath, period."
Gates' ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, said she felt "unbelievable sadness" after her name surfaced in a newly released batch of Justice Department records tied to Epstein, adding that any remaining questions about the matter are for others, including her ex-husband, to answer.
French Gates, 61, discussed the records during an appearance on NPR's "Wild Card" podcast with host Rachel Martin.
"Society is having a reckoning," French Gates said, adding the renewed attention "brings back memories of some very, very painful times" from her marriage.
"But I have moved on from that. I purposely pushed it away and I moved on," she added.
"I'm in a really unexpected, beautiful place in my life, so whatever questions remain there ... those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me," French Gates continued.
The Gateses announced their divorce in May 2021 after 27 years of marriage.
French Gates stepped down from the Gates Foundation in 2024.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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