Bill Gates addressed his controversial former relationship with the late Jeffrey Epstein, admitting it was “a huge mistake” to associate with the convicted child sex offender.
“In retrospect, I was foolish to spend any time with him,” the Microsoft co-founder told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published Friday.
“I think I was quite stupid. I thought it would help me with global health philanthropy. In fact, it failed to do that. It was just a huge mistake.”
According to the outlet, Epstein threatened to expose Gates’ alleged affair with Russian bridge player Mila Antonova in 2017 after Gates declined to join his multibillion-dollar charitable fund with JPMorgan Chase.
Epstein had known Antonova since 2013 and paid for her to enroll in software coding school.
Reflecting on his and Epstein’s relationship, Gates, 69, admitted he “definitely” became wary of building more connections after the disgraced financier died by suicide while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and federal conspiracy charges in 2019.
Epstein was 66.
The billionaire, who was married to Melinda Gates from 1994 to 2021, was allegedly in a relationship with Antonova for years.
In March 2022, Melinda, 60, claimed Epstein played a role in the demise of her and Bill’s marriage.
During an appearance on “CBS Mornings,” the philanthropist shared that she decided to leave her 27-year marriage “for many things,” including her ex-husband’s former relationship with Epstein.
“I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, no. I made that clear to him,” she said, claiming she only met Epstein once because she “wanted to see who” he was.
“I regretted it the second I walked in the door,” Melinda admitted. “He was abhorrent. He was evil personified. My heart breaks for these women.”
In an interview with the Times of London published Saturday, Bill said his divorce from Melinda will always be the “mistake” he regrets most.
“There are others but none that matter,” he said. “The divorce thing was miserable for me and Melinda for at least two years.”
The exes have maintained an amicable relationship and share three adult children: Jennifer, 28, Rory, 25, and Phoebe, 22.
Melinda has since moved on with her entrepreneur boyfriend, Philip Vaughn, while Bill is dating Paula Hurd.