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Bill Gates admits he had 2 affairs with Russian women after STD claims- clarifies ties to Jeffrey Epstein
Bill Gates has admitted he had two affairs with Russian women following STD claims, and issued a new apology over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The 70-year-old Microsoft co-founder addressed staff at his foundation during a town hall meeting on Tuesday (February 24), where he acknowledged mistakes in his personal life.
During the meeting, Gates revealed he had extramarital relationships while married to Melinda French Gates, who filed for divorce in 2021, ending their 27-year marriage.
“I did have affairs, one with a Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist who I met through business activities,” he told staffers, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Epstein had previously threatened Gates over the affair with Russian bridge player Mila Antonova, which was reported by the outlet.
Gates met Antonova in 2010 at a tournament they were playing in.
The late financier later met Antonova while seeking financial backers for a bridge academy before he paid for her to attend a software coding school.
According to WSJ, in a July 4, 2013, email to Boris Nikolic, Gates’ chief adviser for science and technology, Epstein named two women with whom he alleged Gates had affairs.
The disgraced financier claimed the women risked 'becoming overnight sensations,' telling Nikolic: “Bill risks going from richest man to biggest hypocrite, Melinda a laughing stock, pledges will disappear as a result."
Just weeks later, Epstein sent a 'resignation' email to himself in which he appeared to be writing as Nikolic. "During the past few weeks, I have been caught up in a severe marital dispute between Melinda and Bill," the email said.
The message suggested Nikolic had assisted Gates in securing medication 'in order to deal with the consequences of sex with Russian girls'.
Nikolic later claimed the emails were not written on his behalf or at his request.
Gates: 'I Did Nothing Illicit'
Gates addressed his relationship with Epstein directly during the town hall, confirming he met the financier in 2011, after Epstein’s Florida conviction for procuring a child for prostitution.
He admitted flying on a private plane with the disgraced man and spending time with him in New York, Germany, France, and Washington, but said he never visited Epstein’s island.
“I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” Gates said.
“To be clear, I never spent any time with the victims, the women around him.”
He acknowledged that his ex-wife had long been 'skeptical' about his connection to Epstein and apologized to those affected by the controversy.
“I apologize to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake I made...
"It definitely is the opposite of the values of the foundation and the goals of the foundation," he said.
An organization spokesperson said the businessman “spoke candidly” and “took responsibility for his actions.”
“I thought it would help me with global health philanthropy. In fact, it failed to do that. It was just a huge mistake,” Gates told the Journal.
In a separate interview with 9News in Australia, he added: "Every minute I spent with him I regret and I apologise that I did that."
Melinda Speaks Out
Melinda has also opened up about the allegations while on NPR’s Wild Card podcast.
"For me, it's personally hard whenever those details come up, right?
"Because it brings back memories of some very, very painful times in my marriage," she said.
"Whatever questions remain there of what - I can't even begin to know all of it - those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband.
"They need to answer to those things, not me."
"I’m able to take my own sadness and look at those young girls and say, ‘My God, how did they… How did that happen to those girls?" she added.