Bill Gates says he regrets ‘every minute’ he spent with Jeffrey Epstein, calls meetings ‘foolish’

Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates has regretted every moment he spent with late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Speaking about the contents of documents released to the public by the US Department of Justice last week, the 70-year-old said that his previous encounters with Epstein were ‘foolish’ and a serious mistake. “Every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologise that I did that,” he told 9 News in Australia on Wednesday.

He explained the meetings happened after Epstein was found guilty of sexual offences in 2008.
Speaking to political editor Charles Croucher, Gates refuted claims that he engaged in sexual activity with women. Additionally, he denied ever having a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that he hid from Melinda French Gates, his former spouse.“Apparently, Jeffrey wrote an email to himself. That email was never sent. The email is fake,” Gates told 9 News, adding, “I don’t know what his thinking was there. Was he trying to attack me in any way?”

Gates added that he “only went to dinners” with the convicted sex offender until 2014, having first met Epstein in 2011.

“The focus was always that he knew a lot of very rich people, and he was saying he could get them to give money to global health. You know, in retrospect, that was a dead end, and I was foolish to spend time with him,” Gates said.The Microsoft co-founder further mentioned that he never visited Epstein’s island, stating, “You know, I never went to the island. I never met any women.”

“And so, the more that comes out, the clearer it’ll be that although the time was a mistake, it had nothing to do with that kind of behaviour,” Gates added.

Watch:

‘I never went to the island… every minute I spent with him I regret and I apologize that I did that.’

Bill Gates described himself as “foolish” for spending time with Jeffrey Epstein and denied any wrongdoing, following the release of the latest batch of documents and images… pic.twitter.com/wjpvBOzHUr

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18News) February 4, 2026

Gates latest revelation came after his former spouse, Melinda Gates, called the discoveries “beyond heartbreaking” and demanded that Bill respond to enquiries regarding the STD accusations in Epstein’s email.

She added that the release of the files reminded her of “very, very painful times” in their marriage.

In July 2019, Epstein was taken into custody and accused of sex trafficking of children. While awaiting trial at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York City, he was found dead one month later in what appeared to be a suicide.