Bill Gates 'took responsibility for his actions' over Epstein links, foundation says

Bill Gates "took responsibility for his actions" regarding his connections with late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a town hall session with employees of the Gates Foundation, a spokesperson for the philanthropic organization told Reuters in a written statement on Tuesday.

The spokesperson made the statement in reaction to a report by the Wall Street Journal, which said that Gates apologized to employees in a town hall session for his connections with Epstein.

Documents made public by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have shown that Gates and Epstein had numerous meetings after the latter's prison term to discuss an expansion of the philanthropic work of the Microsoft founder.

According to the Journal, Gates told employees in the town hall session that it was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein and introduce executives of the Gates Foundation to the sex offender. The Journal quoted a recording of the statements made by Gates in the town hall session.

"I apologize to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made," he said.

The Journal further reported that Gates also admitted that he had two affairs with Russian women, which Epstein subsequently found out about, although these did not involve Epstein's victims.

"I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit," Gates told the staff, according to the report.

The images released by the DOJ also included photographs of the Microsoft founder with women whose faces were redacted. Gates has already admitted that the relationship with Epstein was limited to discussing philanthropy-related topics and that it was a mistake to meet with him.

According to the Journal, Gates told the staff of the foundation that the images were photographs that Epstein asked him to take with Epstein's assistants after their meetings.

"To be clear, I never spent any time with victims, the women around him," Gates added, according to the report.

A representative of the Gates Foundation told Reuters that Gates conducted a planned town hall meeting with the staff and responded to questions on various topics, including the Epstein files.

"In the town hall, Bill spoke candidly, addressing several questions in detail, and took responsibility for his actions."

The representative also said that the statement issued by the Gates Foundation contained what was discussed by the billionaire in the town hall, and that is all that the foundation has to say about the issue.

Earlier this month, the Gates Foundation said it did not make any financial payments to Epstein or hire him at any time.

The billionaire also canceled his appearance at the AI Impact Summit in India just hours before he was to deliver a keynote speech last week.

The Gates Foundation, led by Bill Gates and founded by him and his ex-wife in 2000, is the world's largest funder of global health programs.