Microsoft founder Bill Gates appeared uncomfortable when questioned about his past relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in prison in 2019.
After PBS’s Judy Woodruff asked him two questions about his past relationship with Epstein, Gates, who called the meetings a “mistake,” appeared uncertain to respond to a question about whether there’s a lesson from his dealings with the late millionaire.
“Well, he’s dead, so …” Gates told the PBS NewsHour anchor on Tuesday. He then pivoted to his philanthropic healthcare work, “You know, in general, you always have to be careful and, you know, and I’m very proud of what we’ve done in philanthropy, very proud of the work of the foundation. That’s why I get up every day and focus on.”
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WATCH: @JudyWoodruff asks Bill Gates about his meetings with Jeffrey Epstein a decade ago, after Epstein had already been convicted of sex crimes.
“Those meetings were a mistake,” Gates says. “They didn’t result in what he purported and I cut them off.” pic.twitter.com/7gg9osnzpu
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) September 21, 2021
Gates admitted in August to having several dinners with Epstein, but he reiterated that he cut off the relationship when it became clear Epstein wouldn’t be helpful to his philanthropy efforts.
“Those meetings were a mistake. They didn’t result in what he purported, and I cut them off. You know, that goes back a long time ago now, so there’s nothing new on that,” Gates said at the time.
Gates’s acknowledgment of a relationship with Epstein came shortly after his divorce from Melinda Gates was finalized. Microsoft board members wanted to remove Bill Gates from his position in 2020 after an investigation revealed that he had an affair with a Microsoft engineer 20 years prior. Gates resigned before they could take action.
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Epstein was arrested in July 2019 and charged with sex trafficking and conspiracy for allegedly abusing girls as young as 14. He pleaded not guilty to the charges before he was found dead in his Manhattan prison cell in August. His death was ruled a suicide by the New York City medical examiner’s office.
Epstein’s alleged accomplice, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, is currently in prison awaiting trial. After she was arrested in 2020 on charges of conspiracy to entice minors, enticement of a minor, conspiracy to transport minors, transportation of a minor, and perjury, federal prosecutors later filed two additional sex trafficking charges against her in March. She pleaded not guilty.
