Former Microsoft CEO and American philanthropist Bill Gates has spoken about his friendship with deceased financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) which was published on January 24, Gates said that he was foolish to spend any time with Epstein.
'...a huge mistake'
"In retrospect, I was foolish to spend any time with him. And he, sort of, got time with various people by spending time with other people," Gates said.
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"So yes, I think I was quite stupid. I thought it would help me with global health philanthropy. In fact, it failed to do that it was just a huge mistake," he added.
Gates also pointed out that the controversies that stemmed from meeting Epstein made him (Gates) more weary of building connections.
Epstein threatened to expose Gates about extramarital affair
Gates' remarks on his friendship with Epstein came after the deceased financier threatened the former Microsoft CEO over his extramarital affair with a Russian bridge player.
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A report by the WSJ report in 2023 said that when Epstein found out about Gates' affair, he threatened Gates to reimburse him for tuition costs that Epstein initially covered for the bridge player to attend software coding school.
The bridge player was identified as Mila Antonova.
The report said that Epstein made this threat to Gates in an email sent in 2017.
(With inputs from agencies)