The case files disclosed by the U.S. Department of Justice detailed Bill Gates' dealings with Jeffrey Epstein, and Gates' public image suffered a heavy blow. This newspaper’s investigation around the billionaire philanthropist has sorted out four key pieces of information.
1. Allegations related to extramarital affairs
At an internal symposium with Gates Foundation employees in February, Bill Gates admitted to two extramarital affairs mentioned in Epstein’s emails.
People familiar with the matter revealed that employees were surprised when they heard Gates' confession: More than 20 accusations related to extramarital affairs were exposed in Gates' previous divorce proceedings. Justice Department files show that Epstein knew about some of Gates' extramarital affairs.
A spokesperson for Gates responded: Gates never conducted any illegal activities with Epstein, but admitted that meeting with him was a major mistake. "Gates has apologized and will voluntarily attend a House Oversight Committee hearing in June to be questioned about his dealings with Epstein. Gates supports the complete disclosure of Epstein-related dossiers to help victims seek justice."
2. Microsoft received a cold reception at its annual meeting
As co-founder of Microsoft, Gates was unable to attend the company's annual CEO summit this year.
In the past, Gates often hosted banquets at his home in Washington state to entertain attendees of the Microsoft CEO Summit. A few weeks before the May summit, Gates’ team was notified that organizers recommended canceling the family dinner this year, people familiar with the matter said.
Microsoft's official statement: "This year's cooperation failed to materialize, but we have sent an invitation to Bill to participate in next year's summit."
3. Controversy involving Terra Energy
After the Epstein dossier was exposed and Gates admitted to the extramarital affair, the CEO of Terra Energy, the company founded by Epstein, informed employees internally that he had communicated with Gates’ private office to confirm the relevant scandal.Nothing to do with TerraPower.
However, many current and former TerraPower employees have doubts about this statement. Gates mentioned at the foundation symposium that one of the partners of the extramarital affair was a "Russian nuclear physicist whom he met through work." This woman had worked extensively at Terra Energy.
LinkedIn information shows that the woman worked at TerraPower from 2010 to 2012, and her name is retained in the company's internal system. In 2011, there was a magazine special report on her research and development work at TerraPower, and the report included a photo of her and Gates.
Neither TerraPower nor the woman responded to requests for comment. A spokesman for Gates said: Gates has never had an inappropriate relationship with any TerraPower employee. Another source said the brief romance occurred after the woman left TerraPower.
4. Participate in the production of Netflix documentaries
Internal documents disclosed: Gates staff were deeply involved in a Netflix documentary project in 2024. The project was initially promoted to the producer Tremolo Films as an independent and self-financed film.
After Gates and one of his executives reviewed the finished footage, a Gates Ventures executive proposed changes to the film crew, requesting more scenes of Gates and other characters and making extensive adjustments to the editing. The internal memo reads: "If additional funds are needed, we will cover the full or even excess of Tremolo's production costs and will never halt the project due to funding issues."
After the finished film was released, a Gates Venture Capital executive was included in the film's producer list, which made the documentary film crew shocked and dissatisfied.
Spokespersons for Netflix and Tremolo Pictures said they had no prior knowledge that Gates and his team would finance the production of the film. Netflix stated that the platform has the final decision-making power on editing and content creation, and would not comment further on the matter of production signature.