Bill Gates ‘loved’ Jeffrey Epstein, but his former wife Melinda banned him from speaking with the convicted sex offender, explosive text messages allege.
Several messages from the myriad of Epstein files released this month have given an insight into the friendship between the disgraced financier and tech tycoon Gates.
Epstein spoke with Gates’ adviser in 2017 about a venture that never materialized – partly because the Microsoft founder’s spouse wanted them to stop speaking, the newly-released messages suggest.
‘He wants to talk to you but his wife won’t let him,’ Gates’ adviser told Epstein, per CBS News.
The adviser reportedly followed up with a series of text messages, adding that ‘he loves you’, ‘he says hi’, and ‘he feels bad’ about having to abandon their business proposals.
‘He thought great idea but his wife wouldn’t allow,’ the adviser wrote.
Melinda and Bill Gates divorced in August 2021 after 27 years of marriage, and Melinda said his friendship with convicted pedophile Epstein was a key factor in their split.
‘I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein. I made that clear to him,’ she told Vanity Fair at the time, adding that she met the sex offender ‘exactly one time’.
Gates has not been charged with any crimes in connection with his friendship with Epstein, who died in his prison cell on August 10, 2019.
‘Meeting with Epstein was a mistake that I regret deeply. It was a substantial error in judgement,’ Gates told CBS News in a 2022 statement.
‘I remain dedicated to my work at the Gates Foundation in partnership with Melinda, where our focus is to help reduce global inequities, giving every person the chance to live a healthy and productive life,’ he added.
The newly-released messages between Gates’ adviser and Epstein came when they were discussing an upcoming annual banquet in Washington DC.
Epstein had been hoping to sell Gates on a donor-advised fund, a tax-deductible charitable vehicle the sex offender wanted to operate.
The Microsoft founder was interested, according to his advisor, but had been talked out of it by Melinda.
After the adviser explained this while assuring Epstein that Gates ‘loves’ him, Epstein tried to change his mind.
He said that former Obama White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler ‘would love to sit with Melinda and give her the other side of Jeffrey’, according to the texts.
Ruemmler, who is currently the chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs, appeared to be close with Epstein during the final years of his life, before she started work at the bank. She has not been accused of any crimes.
Gates met Epstein while seeking donors for his global health philanthropy, and Congress released a calendar in September showing several meetings they had.
Epstein frequently met with high-flying people, who are now scrambling to downplay the relationship they had with the convicted sex offender.
He pleaded guilty in 2008 to procuring a child for prostitution in Florida. He served 13 months in custody but was released and returned to his globe-trotting lifestyle.
Few people severed ties with him until July 2019, when he was charged with sex trafficking minors in Florida and New York.
Epstein made his fortune by providing tax and estate services to billionaires, and he had a sprawling network of businessmen, politicians and royal family members.
Along with Gates, his social circle included Prince Andrew, Donald Trump, and Bill Clinton.
The Daily Mail has reached out to both Bill and Melinda Gates for comment.
Melinda received an estimated settlement of $12.5 billion when she divorced one of the world’s richest men in 2021.
Their marriage broke down after what Melinda calls ‘deeply disturbing’ revelations emerged about Bill’s relations with Jeffrey Epstein.
There were also rumors he had affairs with a Microsoft employee in 2000 and a young Russian bridge player 10 years later.
The couple share three children together – Jennifer, 29, Rory, 26, and Phoebe, 23. Jennifer has two children, shared with her husband Nayel Nassar.
Bill said he would be leaving his children less than one percent of his fortune – but this still amounts to $500 million each.
Melinda now runs a glitzy philanthropy organization called Pivotal Ventures in Seattle.
Since 2022, Bill has been dating Paula Hurd, the widow of the former Oracle CEO Mark Hurd.
