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Mr. Sparkle

(3,688 posts)
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 09:34 AM 5 hrs ago

Bill Gates Apologizes to Foundation Staff Over Epstein Ties

Source: Wall Street Journal

Bill Gates apologized to staff of the Gates Foundation over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, admitting he made mistakes that had cast a cloud over the philanthropic group while insisting he didn’t participate in Epstein’s crimes. In a town hall on Tuesday, the Microsoft co-founder acknowledged that he had two affairs with Russian women that Epstein later discovered, but that they didn’t involve Epstein’s victims. “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” Gates said, according to a recording reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Gates said images in the recently released Epstein files showing him with women whose faces are redacted were pictures that Epstein asked him to take with Epstein’s assistants after their meetings. “To be clear I never spent any time with victims, the women around him,” Gates said. “It was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein” and bring Gates Foundation executives into meetings with the sex offender, Gates said. “I apologize to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made.”

The billionaire said he met with Epstein starting in 2011, years after Epstein had pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution. Gates said he was aware of some “18-month thing” that had limited Epstein’s travel but said he didn’t properly check his background. Gates said he continued meeting with Epstein even after his then-wife Melinda French Gates expressed concerns in 2013.

“Knowing what I know now makes it, you know, a hundred times worse in terms of not only his crimes in the past, but now it’s clear there was ongoing bad behavior,” Gates told staff. Speaking of his ex-wife, he added: “To give her credit, she was always kind of skeptical about the Epstein thing.”

Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/bill-gates-apologizes-to-foundation-staff-over-epstein-ties-67f39ef5

20 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Bill Gates Apologizes to Foundation Staff Over Epstein Ties (Original Post) Mr. Sparkle 5 hrs ago OP
Took you long enough, bill. niyad 5 hrs ago #1
Nope. Not good enough. travelingthrulife 5 hrs ago #2
Amazing how all these folks "saw nothing illicit" mwmisses4289 5 hrs ago #3
It was "some 18 month thing" Bluetus 5 hrs ago #6
Sasha Riley, who has said he was one of the victims said the parties went on for days travelingthrulife 5 hrs ago #8
"Sw nothing" Miguelito Loveless 5 hrs ago #4
Resigning is not enough. They have all conspired to keep this secret. travelingthrulife 5 hrs ago #10
Wonder if he thought the two Russian women were there because Scrivener7 5 hrs ago #5
Good people are not billionaires. n/t iscooterliberally 5 hrs ago #7
Y'all don't believe him? twodogsbarking 5 hrs ago #9
"It looks like you're trying to write an apology. Would you like some help with that?" Qutzupalotl 4 hrs ago #11
A claim of ignorance is not a reasonable basis for not saying something. Icanthinkformyself 4 hrs ago #12
I don't care how much epstein's buds protest, Faux pas 3 hrs ago #13
Yeah, you fly with the fleas... Hugin 3 hrs ago #15
Lol Good One! Faux pas 2 hrs ago #18
The classic "mistakes were made" mea culpa... Hugin 3 hrs ago #14
Fuck Bill Gates. That's all. KPN 2 hrs ago #16
It is alleged that Bill picked up an STI from hoosierspud 2 hrs ago #17
Slipping someone medication without their knowledge is universally a criminal act IbogaProject 1 hr ago #19
IIRC during his divorce his wife claimed that part of their marital agreement was that he would be allowed to "vacation" in2herbs 56 min ago #20

mwmisses4289

(3,753 posts)
3. Amazing how all these folks "saw nothing illicit"
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 09:40 AM
5 hrs ago

even as many of them indulged in said illicit activities.

Bluetus

(2,591 posts)
6. It was "some 18 month thing"
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 09:58 AM
5 hrs ago

It is beyond any credibility that he could not have known of Epstein's convictions, especially considering his wife was telling him about that.

That puts everything else he said into question, especially the part about the Russian affairs not being engineered by Epstein. That is completely unbelievable.

What is highly believable is that Putin or one of his people worked with Epstein to arrange the encounters with Gates. And it is certainly possible that Gates didn't know that Epstein was doing that. Epstein did the same thing with Trump, supplying Melania, although Trump was well aware that was an Epstein deal.

The key point is that this was not a sex ring. This was an international kompromat scheme that use sex as the bait.

It might be true that Gates never went to the island, and that Gates never enjoyed any of Epstein's young girls. Actually I think that is probably true because Putin might have figured that just having the evidence of the affairs would be sufficient kompromat for anything he would want from Gates.

At any rate, Gates should come clean 100% now and explain why he allowed Trump to force him to deny climate change. That is a question that needs a clear answer.

travelingthrulife

(4,985 posts)
8. Sasha Riley, who has said he was one of the victims said the parties went on for days
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 10:09 AM
5 hrs ago

and initially it was like a regular party so it is possible some attended these parties on day 1 only when there was not much going on.

The point was to incriminate people by just their attendance at these parties. Worked like a charm.

Miguelito Loveless

(5,629 posts)
4. "Sw nothing"
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 09:52 AM
5 hrs ago

Sorry, don't believe you. The best thing you can do is resign from public life, and do something actually useful with your money for humanity.

Scrivener7

(59,167 posts)
5. Wonder if he thought the two Russian women were there because
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 09:57 AM
5 hrs ago

of his charisma and irresistable good looks.

Icanthinkformyself

(373 posts)
12. A claim of ignorance is not a reasonable basis for not saying something.
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 10:57 AM
4 hrs ago

When several of the people you are partying with late into the night do not appear quite old enough to be there one is 'on notice' that something not right is happening. To continue as a participant in such a case makes you, Mr. Gates, guilty of, at minimum, being witness to crimes you failed to report. The crimes you witnessed are felonies. For the wife to divorce you over this informs us that you are deeper into the sh!t than you claim. Use you wealth, much of it from criminal activity, like most robber barons, to start a victims fund and pay for the investigation of additional Epstein co-conspirators that DOJ refuses to go after.

Faux pas

(16,260 posts)
13. I don't care how much epstein's buds protest,
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 12:02 PM
3 hrs ago

if you were on the plane, you're a member of the club.

hoosierspud

(231 posts)
17. It is alleged that Bill picked up an STI from
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 12:46 PM
2 hrs ago

These Russian women and consulted Epstein on how to surreptitiously medicate Melinda.

IbogaProject

(5,754 posts)
19. Slipping someone medication without their knowledge is universally a criminal act
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 01:25 PM
1 hr ago

Legally it isn't different than poisoning someone. What if she had sun sensitivity or mixed alcohol or other incompatible stuff while also unknowingly taking a slipped poison, which is what antibiotics are?

in2herbs

(4,356 posts)
20. IIRC during his divorce his wife claimed that part of their marital agreement was that he would be allowed to "vacation"
Wed Feb 25, 2026, 02:19 PM
56 min ago

with other women for 2 weeks a year. I wonder what stories his ex could tell, if she's not constrained by a NDA.

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