Bill Gates was repeatedly warned by employees about the reputational risks of associating with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but continued meeting with him for years, according to an independent review commissioned by the Gates Foundation.
The review, commissioned by Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman and conducted by law firm WilmerHale, included interviews with more than 50 current and former Gates Foundation employees and examined the nonprofit’s relationship with Epstein between 2011 and 2014. Investigators found staff raised concerns multiple times with Gates and other senior leaders about maintaining contact with Epstein after his 2008 conviction on child sex offense charges.
Despite those concerns, the review identified about 30 meetings between Epstein and 10 Gates Foundation leaders and staff, including Gates. Those meetings took place between 2011 and 2014 and included visits to Epstein’s Manhattan residence and one meeting at the Gates Foundation’s Seattle headquarters and mostly focused on the potential creation of a donor-advised fund entity (DAF) and Mr. Gates’s engagement with a nonprofit organization that later became a foundation grantee.
“Based on interviews and a review of available foundation records, WilmerHale found no evidence that these meetings were unrelated to philanthropy or involved illegal conduct,” the review said. “Mr. Gates was aware of reputational concerns related to Epstein’s prior conviction and sentencing for a sex-related offense when he began conversations with him in 2011. Foundation staff working on the potential DAF raised on multiple occasions the risks of associating with Epstein because of his prior conviction, and those concerns were raised to senior leadership, including Mr. Gates.”
No evidence Gates Foundation paid Epstein
The review also found no evidence that Epstein was paid by the Gates Foundation or that Gates or foundation staff participated in or had knowledge of Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation.
The Gates Foundation launched the review after Gates addressed employees during a February town hall, where he apologized for having affairs with two Russian women and for putting the foundation’s reputation at risk through his association with Epstein. Gates has maintained that his relationship with Epstein was strictly professional and centered on discussions about creating a donor-advised fund to support global public health initiatives.
According to the review, Gates ended his relationship with Epstein in late 2014 after a meeting in New York in which foundation staff concluded Epstein had misrepresented the involvement of potential donors in the proposed philanthropic fund. The foundation stopped working with Epstein soon afterward.
In an interview with PBS Newshour several years ago, Gates was asked to characterize his relationship with Epstein. Gates said he’d had dinners with Epstein. When asked if he’d learned any lessons after his interactions with Epstein, Gates said, “Well, he’s dead. So, you know, in general, you always have to be careful.”
During a more recent NPR interview in February, Melinda French Gates explained, “Whatever questions remain there of what I don’t can’t even begin to know all of it. Those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me.”
The Gates Foundation’s governing board said it has accepted a series of recommendations to strengthen its vetting process for future philanthropic partnerships.
The review focused solely on the Gates Foundation’s institutional dealings with Epstein and did not examine Gates’ personal relationship or communications outside of foundation business. Gates has repeatedly denied witnessing or participating in any of Epstein’s crimes.
During testimony before the House Oversight Committee in June, Gates also said he believed Epstein may have contemplated blackmailing him after learning of his extramarital affairs.
And new, Wednesday morning, French authorities announced to CNN they are investigating the death of a modeling scout connected to Epstein.
The body of 69-year-old Daniel Siad was discovered in his house in Colombes, a Paris suburb, on Monday. An autopsy is being performed to determine the cause of death.
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