Bill Gates Faces Fresh Humiliation Over Epstein Scandal

Bill Gates has been snubbed by a billionaire pal because of his connections to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

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Gates’ carefully manicured public persona was blown apart earlier this year when the Justice Department revealed that the Microsoft co-founder had links to the once-powerful pedophile, who died in a jail cell in 2019.

But now, as a result of that internal probe, he is being forced to endure fresh humiliation. Sources close to fellow billionaire Warren Buffett, 95, told The Wall Street Journal that Buffett has shelved plans to make his usual hefty donation to Gates’ foundation while he awaits the investigation’s findings.

This marks the first time in 20 years that the Berkshire Hathaway chairman has pulled back from donating after making a lifetime pledge to the organization in 2006. He has given around $48 billion since then.

Sources told the Journal that Buffett has quizzed Gates Foundation leadership about the progress of the probe, with his pleas going all the way to CEO Mark Suzman.

The pair’s friendship dates back to the early 1990s and has led to world-changing philanthropy. However, the relationship has been strained since the Justice Department started releasing the so-called “Epstein Files” last year.

In March, Buffett said he hadn’t spoken to Gates about the saga because he doesn’t want to be involved. However, he also didn’t rule out honoring his lifetime pledge to the foundation despite the issues surrounding Gates’ appearance in the Epstein files.

“I haven’t [spoken to Gates]. No. I haven’t talked to him at all since the whole thing was unveiled. I don’t want to be in a position where I know things at the moment. I could get called as a witness,” he told Becky Quick on CNBC’s Squawk Box.

Quick asked if he would continue to pledge money to the Gates Foundation. “Well, yeah, actually, I agreed to do it every year, but I’ve done it around June 30 most of the time, and I’ll wait and see what unfolds,” Buffett said.

During a deposition with the House Oversight Committee in June, Gates confirmed that the pair hadn’t spoken since January, the same month that the Justice Department released around 3 million pages and thousands of images and videos related to Epstein.

Gates was all over the files, though there was no suggestion of criminal wrongdoing. His prominent involvement in the dump led him to apologize before his foundation staff.

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“Bill spoke candidly, addressing several questions in detail,” the Gates Foundation said in a statement at the time.

The Journal offered more detail, reporting that he referenced affairs with Russian women, which Epstein later found out about. In relation to Epstein, he added, “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit.”

“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,” Gates told staff at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, according to the Journal.

The apology came after the Jan. 30 dump revealed that Epstein appeared to claim he had arranged “sex with Russian girls” on Gates’ behalf. The messages were dated years after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

One draft also referenced a sexually transmitted disease allegedly connected with one of those encounters and discussed secretly administering antibiotics to Gates’ then-wife, Melinda French Gates. There is no evidence that the emails were ever sent to Bill Gates, who has categorically denied the allegations.

The latest disclosures also showed Epstein threatened to expose Gates’ affair with Russian bridge player Mila Antonova in 2017, after Gates’ then-science adviser, Boris Nikolic, told Epstein about Gates’ affairs.

Emails indicate that Epstein inserted himself into Nikolic’s departure negotiations from Gates’ private office, using knowledge of the affairs to pressure Gates. Epstein also paid for the bridge player’s coding-school tuition and later asked Gates to reimburse him.

“It was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein,” Gates reportedly told staff at the foundation town hall.

Gates has previously acknowledged meeting Epstein in 2011 and attending several dinners with him over the following years, but has maintained that the interactions were solely philanthropic ventures.

Melinda French Gates has said that her ex-husband’s association with Epstein was one of the reasons for their divorce.

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