Lawyers at WilmerHale have reviewed Bill Gates’ links to Jeffrey Epstein, compiling a report revealing that members of the Gates Foundation met with Epstein more than two dozen times. The review, commissioned by the Gates Foundation, took five months to complete. As part of the review, WilmerHale conducted more than 50 interviews with the foundation’s current and former personnel.
“Based on interviews and a review of foundation records, WilmerHale found no evidence of participation in or knowledge of Epstein’s ongoing sex trafficking operations or criminal activities,” the review summary reads. “WilmerHale found no evidence that the foundation was contemporaneously aware of Epstein’s use of the foundation’s name to help advance his conduct. WilmerHale also found no evidence that Epstein was paid by the foundation.”
A footnote to the summary notes that WilmerHale “did not have access to Mr. Gates’s personal communications and did not review Epstein’s interactions with Mr. Gates in a personal capacity or separate legal entities associated with Mr. Gates, including Gates Ventures and the Gates Foundation Trust.”
The Gates Foundation interacted with Epstein on two issues: “(1) the potential creation of a donor-advised fund entity (‘DAF’), and (2) Mr. Gates’s engagement with a nonprofit organization that later became a foundation grantee.”
WilmerHale uncovered about 30 meetings between Epstein and ten foundation leaders and staff between 2011 and 2014. Gates was aware of Epstein’s prior sex-related offense and conviction upon engaging with him in 2011, the group noted.
The organization concluded its report by offering several suggestions on how the Gates Foundation may improve its internal processes, including establishing a cohesive vetting process, addressing conflicts of interest, and improving training on sensitive information and records, among other measures.
Bill Gates told the House Oversight Committee that he “never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct.” He added, “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.”
