Microsoft founder Bill Gates publicly acknowledged that maintaining contact with Jeffrey Epstein was a mistake he regrets.In an interview with the Australian network 9News, Gates addressed for the first time the recent revelations of the so-called “Epstein files”, which have shed new light on the connections of the deceased financier with high-profile international figures.
El empresario negó haber ocultado una enfermedad de transmisión sexual a suentonces esposa y rechazó las acusaciones de haber intentado medicar a MelindaFrench Gates sin su consentimiento, afirmando que “la acusación es falsa” y queEpstein buscaba extorsionarlo o dañarlo.Gates said: “Every minute I spent with him, I regret it, and I apologize for doing it.”
Bill Gates’ testimony came after statements by Melinda FrenchGates to American radio NPR, in which she expressed the negative impact that the friendship between her ex-husband and Epstein had on her personal life and the course of her marriage.
French Gates said that reliving these episodes is painful and described the years linked to the relationship with Epstein as “very, very painful moments in my marriage.”French Gates said: “Those questions need to be answered by the people involved, including my ex-husband. I’m not the one who needs to answer for that.”
The relationship between Bill Gates and his ex-wife ended in 2021 after 27 years of marriage.The divorce process was marked by media exposure, private episodes and scrutiny derived from the Epstein scandal, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking of minors in New York.
The businessman’s ex-wife assured in the interview with NPR that she has managed to rebuild her personal life and that she feels “happy to be away from everything that was there.”In relation to the victims, the philanthropist stressed: “No girl should have gone through what those girls experienced with Epstein and his entourage. It is heartbreaking.”
The accusations against Bill Gates included the alleged concealment of a sexually transmitted disease after encounters with “Russian women,” according to Epstein’s files.Gates’ office called the version “completely absurd and false,” and Gates himself denied to 9News any involvement in improper conduct or relationships with women linked to Epstein.
“I never visited Epstein’s private island and I never had a relationship with any woman,” said the businessman.He added that his interest in meeting with Epstein arose from the promise of obtaining funding for scientific projects and global health, a goal that ultimately proved fruitless.
“I was naive to spend time with him. I was one of many who regret meeting him. The more we know, the clearer it will be that, although it was a mistake, it has nothing to do with that type of behavior,” he said.
The controversy reached the United States Congress.Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace expressed her support for French Gates’ position and requested that Bill Gates be subpoenaed to testify before the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating Epstein’s activities.“I have questions for Bill Gates about Epstein,” Mace posted on the X social network.
The impact of the Epstein case continues to spread to other public figures, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, who announced their willingness to testify before the committee after their names appeared in court documents associated with the case.
