Elon Musk lashed out at Bill Gates on Tuesday, invoking the late financier Jeffrey Epstein in a sharp rebuke of Gates' claim that Musk's sweeping cuts to U.S. foreign aid programs are "killing the world's poorest children." The latest clash between the tech billionaires unfolded on stage at the Bloomberg Qatar Economic Forum as Musk defended his leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President Donald Trump.
"Who does Bill Gates think he is to make comments about the welfare of children, given that he frequented Jeffrey Epstein?" Musk said during an interview with journalist Mishal Husain, receiving scattered applause. "I wouldn't want that guy to babysit my kids."
Gates had accused Musk of enabling catastrophic humanitarian outcomes through his aggressive dismantling of U.S. foreign aid programs. In an interview with the Financial Times, Gates warned that "the picture of the world's richest man killing the world's poorest children is not a pretty one," referring to USAID's collapse and halted HIV prevention programs in Africa.
DOGE eliminated over 90% of USAID's overseas contracts, cutting $60 billion in global assistance. Musk defended the actions, claiming, "It's false," when pressed on the humanitarian fallout. "Like, can we at least see a few kids, like, where are they?" he asked, while asserting DOGE found "an enormous amount of fraud and graft."
Elon Musk sur Bill Gates :
« C’est un énorme menteur. Qu’il commence par s’expliquer sur Epstein avant de donner des leçons sur la vie des enfants. »
Le mec a « beaucoup dépensé » ? Peut-être.
Mais la vraie question, c’est : à quoi ? Pour qui ?
Quand Gates parle de “sauver… pic.twitter.com/K6nAzsKEUx — Camille Moscow (@camille_moscow) May 20, 2025
Pressed by Husain on specific impacts, including disruptions to the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Musk responded, "OK, so which ones aren't being funded? I'll fix it right now." Husain directed him to UNAIDS modeling that predicts 4 million AIDS-related deaths by 2029 if cuts remain.
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAID) confirmed that the rollback of PEPFAR had caused "treatment [to grind] to a halt" in multiple regions. While the administration granted a limited waiver in February to continue "life-saving" antiretroviral treatment for certain populations, funding for general prevention efforts-including PrEP for most recipients and orphans-was excluded.
Musk rejected Gates' framing as politically motivated. "Show us any evidence whatsoever that that is true," he said, calling Gates a "huge liar."
Gates, meanwhile, told Reuters that U.S. aid cuts will lead to "millions more deaths because of the resources." UNAID noted that U.S. government assistance comprises about 73% of donor funding for HIV globally.
The war of words is the latest flashpoint in a years-long feud between Musk and Gates, which has previously included spats over electric vehicle investments, climate policy, and short-selling Tesla stock. In 2022, Musk mocked Gates for shorting Tesla while calling himself a climate advocate, tweeting, "This is not cool."
The Epstein reference reignited past scrutiny of Gates' meetings with the convicted sex offender after Epstein's 2008 conviction. However, Musk has also faced questions over his own attendance at a 2011 "billionaire's dinner" with Epstein and a visit to his Manhattan home.
