On June 10, during closed-door testimony before the U.S. House Oversight Committee on the Epstein case, Bill Gates identified that he had extramarital affairs with three women during his marriage. Gates has not been accused of any wrongdoing so far. During his closed-door testimony, he took the initiative to answer questions about his dealings with Epstein.
According to the latest 138 pages of testimony released by the House Oversight Committee, Gates said in his opening statement: "I know that Epstein has obtained some sensitive personal information about my life, including the fact that I was unfaithful during my marriage. These extramarital affairs have nothing to do with my relationship with Epstein, but they have caused pain to my family."
Bill Gates after a closed-door meeting with the House Oversight Committee on June 10
Gates admits to three extramarital affairs
Gates also said in his testimony that Epstein knew he was having affairs with two Russian women, bridge player Mira Antonova and nuclear physicist Karima Nigmatulina. He also admitted for the first time to his extramarital relationship with medical entrepreneur Alice Jacobs Nesselroth. Gates said Epstein tried to use information about his extramarital affair and the many lies he concocted to force him to reconnect with him.
Mira Antonova is a Russian bridge player who was active in the American bridge circle around 2010. She also met Gates around 2010 and developed an extramarital relationship. She was in her 20s at the time, and Gates was already in his 50s. Epstein later learned of this and used his experience in sponsoring Antonova to learn programming to put pressure on Gates.
2010,One of Gates' extramarital loversinstallA photo of Dongnova and her at the bridge match.(Screenshot of the video uploaded by Antonova herself/according to Global Times)
Karima Nygmatulina is a Russian nuclear physicist with a PhD from MIT. She is mainly engaged in the research of advanced nuclear energy technology. She once worked at TerraPower, a company invested by Gates, and entered the Moscow city government. She served as a senior official in the city planning system of the Moscow city government. Her relationship with Gates was not confirmed for the first time until the deposition transcripts were made public. Nigmatulina later married Russian businessman Pavel Mashitsky, whose father-in-law was the famous Russian tycoon Vitaly Mashitsky.
Alice Jacobs Nesselroth is an American doctor and medical entrepreneur born in 1975. She had barely appeared in any Gates-related reports before, and her name had not been made public for the first time until this deposition. Existing information shows that she is not directly related to the Epstein case.
According to public information, Nesselroth holds an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, a bachelor's degree in biological sciences and a bachelor's degree in art history from Stanford University. She founded IMDx, a medical diagnostic services company. In 2012, she was named one of the top ten outstanding young leaders by the Boston Chamber of Commerce and one of the "Women to Watch" by "Massachusetts Tech" magazine. In 2011, she won the title of "Best Entrepreneur in a Non-Service Enterprise with 100 or Less Employees" at the 8th Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Scientific American magazine named Nesselroth one of the 50 top innovators in science and technology. She was also selected by the World Economic Forum as a member of the Young Global Leaders Forum.
Gates denies involvement in Epstein's misconduct
In congressional testimony, lawmakers also questioned him about claims in Epstein documents that Gates feared contracting sexually transmitted diseases. Epstein once wrote in an email that Gates claimed he contracted an STD from a "Russian girl" and sought Epstein's help in hiding it from his then-wife.
Gates has denied the accusations: "I have never had an STD. I may have expressed concern about whether I had an STD; I don't remember. But I have never had an STD. I have never secretly given drugs to anyone."
Gates also denied ever witnessing or participating in any of Epstein's sexual misconduct, but acknowledged that he may have unknowingly "mingled with the victim" after being introduced to Epstein in 2011 by their mutual friend Boris Nikolic. He believes Nikolic may have disclosed two of his extramarital affairs to Epstein, prompting Epstein to consider using the information to blackmail him.
Gates said he met with Epstein approximately 12 to 14 times during their four-year relationship and had two video calls. He said Epstein repeatedly hinted that he could connect him with wealthy donors for charitable activities, but those promises never materialized.
Asked why he decided to associate with Epstein despite knowing he had been convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution in Florida, Gates said: "I regret not taking this into consideration more fully."