Bill Gates said he regrets "every minute" he spent with Jeffrey Epstein, delivering his most forceful public repudiation yet as a massive new release of federal records revived scrutiny of the late financier's ties to powerful figures and ignited fresh political backlash.
In an interview aired Feb. 4 on 9 News Australia, Gates addressed meetings he had with Epstein between 2011 and 2014, saying the association was a serious misjudgment and rejecting claims circulating in recently disclosed materials from the U.S. Department of Justice. "Every minute I spent with him, I regret," Gates told political editor Charles Croucher, adding, "I apologise that I did that."
Gates said the encounters were limited to dinners and conversations about potential philanthropic fundraising for global health initiatives, a path he described as "a dead end." The comments came days after the DOJ published more than three million pages of Epstein-related documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a 2025 law mandating broad disclosure of records tied to the financier's investigations.
Among the materials was an unsent 2013 draft email attributed to Epstein that made unverified allegations about Gates' private life. Gates told 9 News the claims were "false" and said the message was never sent, suggesting it was intended to defame him. A Gates spokesperson echoed that view, calling the allegations "absurd and completely false."
The latest statements go beyond Gates' earlier acknowledgments, including prior comments to CNN that meeting Epstein was a "huge mistake" that inadvertently lent the financier credibility. Gates again said he never visited Epstein's private Caribbean island, never met women through Epstein and had no involvement in Epstein's criminal activity.
The renewed attention has also drawn public remarks from Melinda French Gates, who said the disclosures resurfaced "very, very painful times." Speaking on NPR's Wild Card podcast on Feb. 3, she said Gates must answer questions raised by his appearance in the files and emphasized the enduring harm suffered by Epstein's victims.
The DOJ's release has prompted criticism on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers including Rep. Ro Khanna have questioned whether the department has fully complied with the Transparency Act, arguing that only a fraction of responsive material has been made public. Victims' advocates have also raised alarms about redaction failures that briefly exposed personal information, leading the DOJ to remove some files.
Gates' defenders stress that association does not equal complicity and point to decades of global health work by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Critics counter that Epstein's 2008 conviction should have made any engagement unacceptable, particularly for a figure of Gates' stature.
