Gates and Epstein: A Regret Cast in the Shadow of a Scandal

Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder turned global philanthropist, rarely steps into controversy unbidden. But in early February 2026, the 70-year-old billionaire publicly acknowledged something bringing him in controversy that may not end with his clarification.

Heregrets ever having spent time with Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender whose name has become shorthand for elite circles tarnished by association. “Every minute I spent with him, I regret,” Gates told 9News Australia in a wide-ranging interview, adding that it was “foolish” of him to have spent any time with Epstein.

For Gates, whose efforts through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have poured billions into global health, disease eradication, vaccine distribution and education initiatives, this is not just a minor apology; it is a rare moment of public vulnerability. His words came amid a fresh wave of scrutiny unleashed by the U.S. Department of Justice’s release of nearly three million pages of investigative material related to Epstein’s activities documents that have sent shockwaves through political, business and philanthropic elites whose names appear in various contexts.

Born in 1953, he made his fortune managing money for the wealthy and cultivating a network of powerful contacts. But his legacy was forever stained by his 2008 conviction in Florida for soliciting a minor for prostitution a plea deal widely criticized as lenient and by later federal charges of sex trafficking. Epstein died by suicide in a New York federal jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on those charges, an end that only deepened the public fascination and outrage over his life and connections.

Gates’s relationship with Epstein began years after Epstein’s conviction, in 2011. At the time, Epstein was already a registered sex offender but remained oddly connected to circles of wealth and influence. Gates has said that the meetings — several dinners spread over a few years — were motivated by Epstein’s claim that he could introduce Gates to wealthy donors for global health causes. Gates described these overtures as ultimately fruitless, a “dead end” that produced no meaningful philanthropic support.

“I never went to the island,” Gates said, referring to Epstein’s private Caribbean estate where some of the most damning allegations against the financier took place. He also denied having inappropriate relationships with women during this period. “It’s factually true that I was only at dinners,” he told 9News.