Bill Gates has again defended his connection to Jeffrey Epstein. In an interview with The Atlantic, Gates asserted that his ties to Epstein never involved women and was never a “social thing.”
“It just underscored how foolish I was not to have better judgment, even though my intent was philanthropic,” he said. “There was never any social thing. I never went to the island. I was never introduced to any women. But I’ve learned a lot from that.”
“He definitely had connections with billionaires, a lot of them. And, you know, in a sense, you could say he found my weak point,” Gates added. “That by saying he could get tens of billions or 100 billions that would be donated to global health causes, that raised my interest.”
“I thought he had, you know, served the time, just like, you know, all sorts of ex-convicts that the foundation works with in trying to get them back into the labor market. I thought the justice system had worked.”
Gates’ comments echo those he made before the House Oversight Committee in June, telling lawmakers that he was unaware of any criminal conduct that Jeffrey Epstein engaged in. “At the outset, I want to state very clearly: I never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct. I never went to his island, his ranch, or his Florida home. I have never victimized anyone. While he may have sought to foster a personal relationship, I was never interested in that and never reciprocated,” Gates said in the opening statement published on his website.
“I recall being aware that Epstein had faced prior legal issues, but I did not fully understand the extent of the crimes he committed. I accepted the introduction without applying the scrutiny I should have,” Gates said.
