Bill Gates has spoken out about his inclusion in the three million-page tranche of the Jeffrey Epstein files, saying he regrets every minute he spent with the late pedophile.
In his first interview since the latest documents were released in the U.S., the Microsoft co-founder claimed some of the messages in the huge trove were “false”.
“Every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologise that I did that,” Gates told Australia’s 9News, adding that he was “foolish to spend time with him” and is “one of many people who regret ever knowing him”.
”The more that comes out, the more clear it will be that, although the time was a mistake, it has nothing to do with that kind of behaviour,” Gates added.
Draft messages from 2013 saved in Epstein’s email account appeared appeared to suggest Gates had contracted a sexually transmitted infection during meetings with women arranged by Epstein.
Gates strongly rejected these claims, branding them “absurd” in an earlier statement and elaborating during the interview.
“Apparently, Jeffrey wrote an email to himself. That email was never sent. The email is false,” Gates said. “I don't know what his thinking was there. Was he trying to attack me in some way?
It comes after Melinda French Gates, his ex-wife, spoke out about being mentioned in the latest batch of the files, and recalled some “very, very painful times” in her marriage to the Microsoft founder.
“But I have moved on from that. I purposely pushed it away and I moved on,” she told NPR.
“I’m in a really unexpected, beautiful place in my life, so whatever questions remain there of what… I can’t even begin to know all of it. Those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me.”
The 61-year-old, who shares three children with the billionaire, divorced Gates in May 2021 after 27 years of marriage.
NPR’s Wild Card podcast host Rachel Martin asked about the draft email: “The emails in the files suggest that Bill Gates had additional affairs, and that he tried to get medication to treat a sexually transmitted infection, and that he was going to give you the medicine without you knowing,”
Ms Gates said she felt “unbelievable sadness”, adding: “I’m able to take my own sadness and look at those young girls and say, ‘My God, how did they… How did that happen to those girls, right?”
“At least for me, I’ve been able to move on in life, and I hope there’s some justice for those now women,” she added.
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