New York, United States

Philanthropist Melinda French Gates has called Jeffrey Epstein "evil personified," and slammed ex-husband Bill Gates for having met him multiple times.

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Late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was involed in human trafficking and killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex abuse charge.

A socialite and donor, his network of relationships extended from former presidents Donald Trump and Bill Clinton to British Prince Andrew.

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"I wanted to see who this man was, and I regretted it from the second I stepped in the door," she told CBS Mornings in an interview.

Melinda said meeting Epstein was "abhorrent," and afterward she had "nightmares."

"Any of the questions remaining about what Bill's relationship there was, those are for Bill to answer, but I made it very clear how I felt about him," said French Gates.

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Also read | MacKenzie Scott and Melinda French Gates donate $40 million to gender equality projects

The billionaire formerly donated the majority of her wealth to the charitable organisation, which fights global poverty, disease, and inequity.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, of which Gates is co-chair, is part of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), a major project between governments and international organisations.

Also read | Where is Jeffrey Epstein’s money going?

They had finalised their divorce in August, and have continued their work together at the foundation. French Gates’ future there, though, remains unknown - she could leave her position within two years if she and her former husband decide they can no longer work together.

The Wall Street Journal revealed that Bill Gates's March 2020 departure from Microsoft occurred during an investigation into an affair he had with an employee in 2000.

''I believe in forgiveness. I thought we had worked through some of that,'' she said about Bill's affair with a Microsoft employee.

''I gave every single piece of myself to this marriage. I was committed from the day we got engaged to the day we ended it,'' she added.

(With inputs from agencies)