Melinda French Gates met Jeffrey Epstein once. The experience gave her nightmares. Now, days after her ex-husband Bill Gates testified before a Congressional panel about his ties to the late sex offender, she has declared that Epstein “could have been stopped”.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Guardian published on Saturday, the billionaire philanthropist launched a blistering attack on the US justice system. “The justice system didn’t do its job. It did not do its job. Full stop. This could have been stopped,” she said, referring to Epstein and his crimes. “I think that’s why, finally, we are having a reckoning in society. If we don’t want children to be harmed, the justice system has to work.”
“Melinda French Gates says Jeffrey Epstein could have been stopped, condemns US justice system after ex-husband Bill Gates testified to Congress.”
Her comments came just days after Bill Gates testified in a closed-door hearing before the House Oversight Committee. According to a copy of his opening remarks, Gates told lawmakers that Epstein “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”. The Microsoft co-founder also claimed that Epstein tried to blackmail him with explicit details about his personal life, including his extramarital affairs, but emphasised that he “never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct”.
French Gates, who divorced Gates in 2021 after 27 years of marriage, described Epstein in visceral terms. “Have you ever in your life been around somebody that you just know is evil? ... We need to listen to our feelings about people,” she told The Guardian. “He was an abhorrent human being, a horrid man, and so in these situations – this is a hard topic for me, you need to know that – my heart goes out to the young girls.”
Epstein died in jail seven years ago after prosecutors said he sexually exploited and abused dozens of underage girls. French Gates has now turned her focus to empowering women. She recently committed $215 million toward funding women’s healthcare initiatives, according to The Guardian. “When women step into their full power, we have a different lens on society. We are the bedrock of society. We are the bedrock of the family,” she said.
Three years after her divorce, she stepped down from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, citing a desire to “move forward into the next chapter of my philanthropy.”