Meetings with Epstein were ‘grave error in judgment,’ Bill Gates tells Congress

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“We want to understand whether the public statements Mr. Gates has made about his relationship with Epstein are fully truthful and accurate,” Walkinshaw said.

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Gates told the panel that he thought Epstein “would write emails that were oftentimes untrue,” Garcia told reporters during a lunchtime break. “He denies, obviously, some of those claims,” Garcia added, without elaborating on which ones Gates had addressed.

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Gates met with Epstein several times starting in roughly 2011, years after the financier pleaded guilty to procuring a child for prostitution, and once stayed late at Epstein’s New York townhouse, the New York Times reported. Gates has said they discussed a philanthropy project but that their meetings stopped after the likelihood of getting funding diminished.

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In a February meeting with the Gates Foundation staff, the founder said he never interacted with any of Epstein’s victims and never stayed with him overnight, according to the Wall Street Journal. He admitted to two affairs but said neither woman was among the financier’s victims, and he said he had never done or seen anything “illicit” in connection with Epstein.

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Authorities looking into Epstein accused Gates of any crimes.

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French Gates, Gates’ former wife of 27 years, cited his proximity to Epstein as one factor that contributed to the loss of confidence behind their 2021 divorce.

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It has also complicated his philanthropic endeavors, especially with the Gates Foundation that he and French Gates founded. She formally left the organization in 2024, three years after their divorce. The foundation, which was always planned to sunset after the deaths of the founders, will now phase out on a faster timeline, seeking to spend down roughly $200 billion by 2045.

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Bill Gates’ ties to Epstein have strained the organization’s work, which focuses on global health and lifting people out of poverty. The foundation earlier this year commissioned an external review of any association with Epstein.

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Other names close to Gates were also included in the massive trove of documents released since late last year by the Justice Department.

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Emails between Epstein and Boris Nikolic, a key science adviser who worked at Gates’ venture firm, showed how Epstein tried to draw Gates closer into his circle and convince him to visit his Caribbean island. Gates has said he never visited the island and he regrets ever meeting Epstein.

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The correspondence with Nikolic was concentrated from 2011 to 2014. While the emails are at times sexually explicit, records show no evidence that Gates or Nikolic knew of Epstein’s crimes and law enforcement authorities who investigated Epstein’s operation haven’t accused either of any wrongdoing.

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A transcript of Gates’ testimony to the House panel will be released in the coming days, according to a committee spokesperson.

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The House Oversight Committee is investigating Epstein’s networks, as well as potential lapses in federal law enforcement’s response.

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Comer said the panel would seek testimony from acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney who has spearheaded the Justice Department’s handling of Epstein-related matters, and Alan Dershowitz, a prominent criminal defense attorney who appeared in the Justice Department’s files.

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The panel has also sought testimony from Bill and Hillary Clinton, Leon Black, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. General Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler and tech entrepreneur Ted Waitt.