Bill Gates arrives for closed-door Epstein panel testimony

MICROSOFT co-founder Bill Gates arrived at the US Capitol complex on Wednesday for closed-door testimony to the House Committee investigating the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The appearance of Gates, one of the world’s richest men and the face of the technological revolution for a generation of Americans, was a striking testament to the broad and influential network of connections Epstein cultivated. Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.

The release of Justice Department files on Epstein forced by an act of Congress has spurred closed public scrutiny of Epstein’s past associations with powerful figures, including Britain’s ex-Prince Andrew, former Harvard University President Larry Summers, former US President Bill Clinton and Apollo Global Management co-founder Leon Black. Those men and Gates have denied any wrongdoing.

“Glad to be here,” Gates said to reporters as he arrived for questioning by the House panel. “I hope my testimony is helpful to the work, important work of the committee to find justice for the victims.”

Gates met with Epstein several times starting 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.

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. 

Authorities looking into Epstein’s criminality haven’t accused Gates of any wrongdoing.

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

It has also complicated his philanthropic endeavors, especially with the Gates Foundation that he and French Gates founded.

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She formally left the organisation 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 US$200 billion by 2045. 

Bill Gates’ ties to Epstein have strained the organisation’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. 

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

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. 

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.

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

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

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. 

Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to Florida state charges, including procurement of a minor for prostitution in a deal negotiated with then-US Attorney Alexander Acosta to avoid more serious federal sex trafficking charges at the time.

Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on later federal sex trafficking charges. Authorities ruled the death a suicide. BLOOMBERG