The apology came weeks after the US Department of Justice made public documents that indicated meetings took place between Bill Gates and Jeffrey Epstein after the latter was jailed for sex offences.
File image of Microsoft founder Bill Gates (Photo: IANS/X/@naralokesh)
Bill Gates is reported to have apologised to the staff of philanthropic group, the Gates Foundation, over his relations with the late financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
That Gates apologised was reported by the Wall Street Journal and Reuters followed it up with a foundation spokesperson’s remarks that Gates “took responsibility for his actions” during a town hall with employees.
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The apology came weeks after the US Department of Justice made public documents that indicated meetings took place between Gates and Epstein after the latter was jailed for sex offences.
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The meetings reportedly focussed on the Microsoft founder’s philanthropic efforts.
WSJ reported Gates as saying during the town hall meeting that he had committed a huge mistake by spending time with Epstein and also by involving foundation executives in some of those meetings with the sex offender.
“I apologise to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made,” Gates said, according to the newspaper, which cited a recording of the town hall.
Gates also admitted to having affairs with two Russian women, who he said were later discovered by Epstein. However, he asserted that the Russian women were not Epstein’s victims.
“I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” Gates told the Gates Foundation staff.
“To be clear, I never spent any time with victims, the women around him,” he added.
Among the released documents were Gates’s pictures with women whose faces were redacted.
Gates reportedly told the foundation’s staff that the pictures featured Epstein’s assistants, and he was asked by the late financier to pose for these images after their meetings.
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