Bill Gates testifies before US Congress on Jeffrey Epstein ties
On June 10, 2026 the Microsoft co‑founder appeared before the House Oversight Committee to answer questions about his past relationship with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein. Gates said he first met Epstein in 2011, was aware of Epstein’s 2008 conviction for a sexual‑related crime, and pursued meetings hoping the financier could help raise funds for the Gates Foundation’s global‑health work. He ended the association in December 2014, calling the contact a “grave error in judgment.”
Gates denied ever being blackmailed but said the released DOJ emails suggested Epstein had considered using Gates’s extramarital affairs as leverage. He acknowledged three affairs – with medical entrepreneur Alice Jacobs Nesselrodt, nuclear scientist Karima Nigmatulina and bridge player Mila Antonova – and said the relationships were unrelated to Epstein’s activities. Gates asserted he never interacted with Epstein’s victims, though he may have been in their presence on a flight, and he rejected claims that he ever had a sexually transmitted disease. He expressed regret for meeting Epstein and pledged support for the full release of the disclosed files.
The testimony is part of a broader congressional probe into Epstein’s network and the handling of his case by U.S. authorities.