Bill Gates on Jeffrey Epstein I Was a Fool to Hang Out With Him!!!

Published February 4, 2026 8:13 AM PST

After Melinda French Gates issued a public plea for her ex-husband Bill Gates to address his mentions in the Epstein Files ... Bill is doing just that in a new -- at times, uncomfortable -- interview.

The infamous files show Epstein appeared to send emails to himself claiming Bill got a sexually transmitted disease and referencing "consequences of sex with russian girls" ... and claiming Bill asked Epstein to give him antibiotics to secretly slip Melinda to prevent her from realizing she'd allegedly caught anything.

In an interview with 9 News Australia, Bill said ... "Apparently, Jeffrey wrote an email to himself. That email was never sent, the email is false. I don't know what his thinking was there."

Bill gives context about his relationship with the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, saying ... "I met Jeffrey in 2011, so over a period of 3 years I had a number of dinners with him. The focus was always -- he knew a lot of very rich people and he was saying he could get them to give money to global health. In retrospect, that was a dead end."

He continued ... "I've said many times, but I'll say again ... I was foolish to spend time with him. I was one of many people who regret ever knowing him."

When asked why Jeffrey would make up a lie about sex and an STD, Bill simply stated, "It's factually true that I was only at dinners. I never went to the island. I never met any women ... The more that comes out, the more clear it'll be that, although the time was a mistake, it had nothing to do with that kind of behavior."

While his Epstein association has dogged him for at least 7 years, Bill maintains the gossip has not frustrated him. He says successful people should be held to a high bar and anticipates the documents will be closely scrutinized.

Melinda, it seems, was much more affected by it. She told NPR's "Wild Card" podcast there are details in the files that brought to mind "memories of some very, very painful times in my marriage. But I have moved on from that. I purposely pushed it away and I moved on."

Previously, a spokesperson for Bill told TMZ ... “These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false. The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame.”