Billionaire Bill Gates has told a congressional committee that Jeffrey Epstein used his marital infidelities to pressure him, as the Microsoft co-founder became the latest high-profile figure to testify in the long-running investigation into the dead sex offender.
Gates appeared voluntarily before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday for a closed-door hearing, where he said he cut ties with Epstein when the convicted paedophile failed to deliver on fundraising for his philanthropic efforts. Epstein, he said, “sought to build an image of legitimacy around himself, using connections to reputable and powerful people to deflect scrutiny and attempt to rehabilitate his reputation.”
“Bill Gates told Congress that Jeffrey Epstein leveraged his extramarital affairs to coerce him into working together.”
In his opening statement, Gates stressed that he never witnessed Epstein’s ongoing criminal conduct, nor had any indication of it. “I never went to his island, his ranch, or his Florida home. I have never victimized anyone,” he said. “While he may have sought to foster a personal relationship, I was never interested in that and never reciprocated.”
But panel members described Epstein as a “friend collector” who associated with people like Gates to “project power and influence”. Gates admitted he first met Epstein in 2011 through people he trusted in his professional and philanthropic circles – three years after Epstein had pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution in Florida. Documents released by the Department of Justice in January included calendar entries and correspondence between the two, with Gates’s name mentioned thousands of times and several photographs showing them together.
Gates echoed an earlier interview where he said he exercised poor judgement in meeting Epstein and was “one of many people who regret ever knowing him”. “Every minute I spent with him I regret,” he said. He said he “should never have met” Epstein in the first place, and hoped his testimony would be “helpful” to the committee’s work to find justice for victims.
Gates joins a list of powerful figures – including former President Bill Clinton, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick – who have been questioned by the bipartisan committee. Epstein killed himself in a jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial, and his long-time associate Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison term. She appeared virtually before the committee in February but invoked her right to refuse to answer questions.
“Due to public reporting, documents released by the Department of Justice, and documents obtained by the Committee, the Committee believes you have information that will assist in its investigation,” committee chair James Comer wrote in March, when Gates was subpoenaed. Gates’s spokesperson said he welcomed the opportunity to appear, stressing that while he never witnessed or participated in any of Epstein’s illegal conduct, he was “looking forward to answering all the committee’s questions to support their important work.”