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Microsoft founder Bill Gates has said he believes Jeffrey Epstein was trying to collect personal information to blackmail him, although that never happened.
The statements were made during a closed-door testimony before the US House of Representatives Committee on June 10, the transcript of which was recently released.
"It wasn't blackmail, but it seemed like it was heading in that direction," Gates said, referring to the communications he had with Epstein.
According to the 70-year-old billionaire, Epstein was aware of his extramarital affairs with two women and some emails suggested that he might try to use this information. Gates stressed that he did not meet these women through Epstein and that he had made it clear to him that there was no way he could profit from this information.
He also admitted to having had several extramarital affairs during his marriage to Melinda French Gates, which he said he confessed to her before their divorce in 2021.
Gates explained that he met Epstein in 2011 because of the latter's interest in supporting philanthropic initiatives in the areas of global health and education. According to him, Epstein claimed that he could secure billions of dollars in funding from his network of contacts.
"I made it clear from the beginning that he would have no role in our projects and would not receive financial compensation ," Gates said.
He said he met with Epstein five times between 2011 and 2012, and that the discussions had focused largely on philanthropy. The contact between them continued until 2014, when Gates realized that promises of financial support were not materializing and decided to distance himself.
Gates added that he had never visited Epstein's private island and that, although he was aware that he had been convicted of crimes, he had not investigated their nature in detail.
"Maybe I should have investigated it more ," he said, reiterating that meeting Epstein remains one of the biggest regrets of his life.
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