Yahoo Finance Bill Gates reveals Jeffrey Epstein was a ‘huge mistake’ in his life
Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has expressed regret over his relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein in an interview with CNN.
The US$130 billion (AU$176 billion) man described his former friendship with Epstein as a “huge mistake”. Epstein was convicted of sex crimes in 2019 and died in jail that year.
Gates and Epstein’s relationship was first reported in 2019 by The New York Times, which outlined the several times the two men had met.
“I had several dinners with him, hoping that what he said about getting billions of philanthropy for global health, through contacts that he had, might emerge. When it looked like that wasn’t a real thing, that relationship ended. But it was a huge mistake to spend time with him, to give him the credibility of being there,” Gates told CNN host Anderson Cooper on Wednesday evening.
“You know, there were lots of others in that same situation, but I made a mistake.”
Gates’ divorce from Melinda French-Gates was finalised this week after being announced in May.
He described it as a “very sad milestone” and acknowledged that he had regrets about the marital breakdown.
The New York Times in May reported that Gates’ had pursued several female colleagues while still married to his wife. However, employees said Gates’ behaviour wasn’t predatory.
The two will continue working together at the US$65 billion Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation unless it becomes untenable for her to continue there after two years, in which case she will step down.
However, Gates said he believes the best thing for the foundation is for the two of them to stay on board.
“Melinda has incredible strengths that she brings that help the foundation be better. We’ve always enjoyed our work together. The two of us can go out and work with leaders and help build the organisation. That would definitely be the best thing for the foundation,” he said.
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