'A Huge Mistake': All About Bill Gates' Infidelity, Links To Epstein

Bill Gates took "responsibility for his actions” and addressed his past ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during an internal town hall with staff at his charitable foundation on February 24.According to The Wall Street Journal and The Seattle Times, Gates apologized and said spending time with Epstein was a “huge mistake.”

The Microsoft co-founder confirmed that he first met Epstein in 2011 (three years after Epstein had pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor) and continued interacting with him until 2014.

“I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” Gates told employees. He said he never visited Epstein’s private island, never stayed overnight at his properties and never met any victims. He added that he regretted the association and apologized to colleagues who were “drawn into this because of the mistake that he made.”

The meeting came weeks after the U.S. Department of Justice released millions of pages of Epstein files in January, putting well known names back in the headlines. Gates, however, has not been accused of wrongdoing by any of Epstein’s victims.

The Affairs That Raised Questions

During the same meeting, Gates admitted to having had two affairs during his 27 year marriage to Melinda French Gates. He said both were with Russian women he met through his own social and business circles.

One of the women has been publicly identified as Mila Antonova, a Russian bridge player Gates met at a bridge event in Washington DC, in 2009. Their first meeting was described as non-romantic, but the timeline and duration of their relationship remain unclear.

In 2013, Antonova was introduced to Epstein by Boris Nikolic, a longtime Gates adviser. Antonova was seeking funding for an online bridge venture. According to a 2023 report by The Wall Street Journal, Epstein paid for her to attend a programming course as she pursued software development.

Emails later revealed that Jeffrey Epstein allegedly tried to weaponise Bill Gates’s past relationship with Mila Antonova. After Gates declined to get involved in a major charitable fund Epstein was trying to set up with JPMorgan Chase.

A spokesperson for Gates has also confirmed that Epstein “tried unsuccessfully to leverage a past relationship to threaten Mr Gates,” adding that no payment was ever made.

But this is where it gets murkier.

Gates has consistently said the women he was involved with had nothing to do with Epstein’s crimes. On paper, that sounds like a clean line. Yet records show that Mila Antonova had direct financial dealings with Epstein after her relationship with Gates had ended. 

The newly released files also included draft emails written from Epstein’s account in 2013 alleging that Gates had contracted a sexually transmitted infection and was trying to hide it. Gates’s representatives have called those claims “absolutely absurd and completely false,” describing them as an attempt by Epstein to defame him.

Inside the Gates–Epstein Timeline

Gates first met Epstein in person on January 31 2011, at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse. Emails reviewed by The New York Times show Gates describing one early evening at Epstein’s home in 2011 as lasting “quite late.”

Over the next three years, Gates and Epstein crossed paths repeatedly discussing large philanthropic ventures. Epstein pitched ambitious funds and claimed he could unlock billions from wealthy donors. What began as introductions turned into a pattern of contact that lasted until 2014.

In March 2013, Gates flew on Epstein’s private jet from New Jersey to Palm Beach Florida. Gates has said he was unaware the aircraft belonged to Epstein. He has also said he never visited Epstein’s Caribbean island or his New Mexico ranch.

Foundation staff also met with Epstein about proposed philanthropic projects. Ultimately, no fund was created and no payments were made to Epstein by the Gates Foundation. By 2014, Gates made it clear that the proposed fund would not materialize and he stopped communicating with Epstein.

Melinda Gates Breaks Her Silence

The headlines have reopened old wounds for Melinda French Gates. In a recent NPR interview, she said the latest release of Epstein files brought back “very, very painful times in my marriage,” making clear that the fallout was deeply personal.

“I am so happy to be away from all the muck,” she said, adding that any remaining questions about the allegations or the relationship with Epstein should be answered by “those people and for even my ex husband. They need to answer to those things, not me.”

The Fallout Inside the Foundation

The Gates Foundation remains one of the world’s largest philanthropic organizations, with an endowment of roughly 86 billion dollars and more than 2,000 employees. Its focus on global health and vulnerable communities makes any association with Epstein especially damaging.

The first visible blow has arguably already landed. Gates was scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the Artificial Intelligence Summit in India, attended by leaders including Narendra Modi, Emmanuel Macron and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He later canceled the appearance. The foundation said the decision was made to keep the focus on the event.