At a February 2026 Gates Foundation staff town hall, Bill Gates acknowledged having affairs with two Russian women while married to Melinda French Gates. He also denied doing or seeing anything illicit with Jeffrey Epstein. Those town-hall remarks were reported by Forbes and ITV; Forbes said the Wall Street Journal reviewed the recording. In a June 2026 congressional interview, Gates said the affairs were unrelated to his interactions with Epstein and called meeting him a grave error in judgment.
What Gates said at the February 2026 town hall
Forbes reported that Gates told foundation employees he had affairs with two Russian women while married to Melinda French Gates. The account identifies one woman as a Russian bridge player whom he met at bridge events, and the other as a Russian nuclear physicist he met through business activities. Forbes said the Wall Street Journal had reviewed the town-hall recording; ITV also reported the remarks.
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In the reported excerpts, Gates said: “I did have affairs, one with a Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist who I met through business activities.” He also said: “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit.” These are reported excerpts from the staff meeting, not a published full transcript.
What Gates told Congress about Epstein
On June 10, 2026, Gates gave a closed-door interview to the House Oversight Committee, which published the transcript. In his prepared statement, he said his interactions with Epstein began in 2011 and ended in December 2014. He said the affairs had nothing to do with those interactions, adding: “These affairs had nothing to do with my interactions with Epstein, but they were painful for my family.”
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Gates called meeting Epstein “a grave error in judgment” and said: “I should never have met with Epstein in the first place.” The Associated Press reported that Gates appeared voluntarily and denied witnessing or knowing of ongoing criminal conduct by Epstein. The transcript establishes what Gates said under questioning; it is not, by itself, a committee finding that resolves every allegation or independently verifies his account.
What the foundation review found—and what it did not
A WilmerHale review commissioned by the Gates Foundation covered foundation-related meetings involving Gates and staff from 2011 to 2014. The Associated Press reported that the review identified roughly 30 meetings and employee concerns about reputational risk. According to AP’s account of a three-page summary released by the foundation, the review found no evidence that the foundation paid Epstein or did anything illegal.
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That finding is limited to what the review reported about the foundation. AP said the foundation had not stated whether it would release the full review, so the reported summary should not be treated as a public account of every underlying document or as a universal finding about all conduct by everyone involved.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to distinguish the claims from the evidence
- Admission: Gates acknowledged the two affairs at the staff town hall, as reported by Forbes and ITV.
- Denial: His statement that he did and saw nothing illicit with Epstein is his account, reported from the town hall—not an independently established finding.
- Allegations: Epstein-authored draft emails included claims about Gates that Gates denied. ABC News Australia reported that the 2013 drafts were written to Epstein himself. An allegation in a draft, or a person’s appearance in released records, does not establish wrongdoing.
- Review finding: The foundation-commissioned review’s reported conclusion concerned evidence of foundation payments or illegal activity; it does not settle every claim concerning Gates and Epstein.
Gates again called the association a huge mistake and said the interactions ended in 2014 in an August 2026 interview, according to Axios. That later account is consistent with the end date in his congressional statement.
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