Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Wednesday morning expressed deep regret about ever associating with the notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as he began testifying behind closed doors to a House panel, according to an opening statement that the billionaire posted online.
Gates, 70, denied witnessing any criminal conduct by Epstein and also denied victimizing anyone himself in his testimony to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Gates’ testimony comes a day after the committee questioned Epstein’s former longtime executive assistant, Lesley Groff. A transcript of his testimony is expected to be released in the next several days.
He said he first met with Epstein in 2011 — three years after the predator pleaded guilty in Florida to soliciting an underage girl for prostitution — as part of an effort to raise money for his philanthropic Gates Foundation and its global health work.
But that never resulted in any donations, according to Gates. And he said that Epstein later tried to use information about Gates’ cheating on his then-wife, Melinda Gates, as leverage to win his way back into an association with Gates.
“I should never have met with Epstein in the first place,” Gates said.
“Based on what I know now, I understand that even if he had delivered the new donors he promised, it would not have justified associating with him.”
“I want to state very clearly: I never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct,” said Gates, who has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
“I never went to his island, his ranch, or his Florida home. I have never victimized anyone,” Gates said. “While he may have sought to foster a personal relationship, I was never interested in that and never reciprocated.”
The billionaire noted that his association with Epstein had imperiled the work of the Gates Foundation, one of the world’s largest philanthropic foundations, with a reported endowment of more than $70 billion.
“In the work I do, reputation is the basis for developing partnerships that save lives,” Gates said. “Meeting with Epstein was a grave error in judgement and put this work at risk.”
“His behavior was antithetical to all my efforts to contribute to a world where everyone has a chance to live a healthy and productive life.”
“I see now that he sought to build an image of legitimacy around himself, using connections to reputable and powerful people to deflect scrutiny and attempt to rehabilitate his reputation,” Gates said.
“I was so focused on the possibility of raising funds for global health that I allowed that goal to override my better judgment. That is a sobering realization, and it has reinforced for me the importance of being more attentive to how access and reputation can be manipulated by people acting in bad faith.”
Gates is the latest in a series of high-profile people who have testified to the Oversight committee about their connections to Epstein.
Those connections have received heavy media attention since late 2025 after the release of millions of pages of documents about investigations into Epstein by the Department of Justice and Congress.
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., a member of the committee, told reporters, “We are very interested in understanding who was in Epstein’s orbit.
“We’re certainly going to be asking about some of the emails that were in the files as they relate to Mr. Gates’ possible activities with Mr. Epstein,” Garcia said.
In his opening statement, Gates said, “I am here to answer your questions about my interactions with Jeffrey Epstein and to help contribute to the Committee’s important work.”
“I support the release of all the Epstein files and sincerely hope that, through your efforts and those of others advocating on their behalf, the survivors of Epstein’s crimes can get the justice that they deserve.”
Epstein cultivated an array of wealthy, powerful, and successful individuals during his shady career as a money manager.
Among his longtime friends was President Donald Trump. The two men had a falling out in the early 2000s.
Epstein has been accused of sexually assaulting scores of underage girls and young women. In 2008, he pleaded guilty in Florida state court to charges related to soliciting an underage girl for prostitution.
Epstein served 13 months in jail in that case, although he spent much of his daytimes on work release. He committed suicide at age 66 in a New York jail in August 2019, weeks after he was arrested on federal child sex trafficking charges.
Gates said he was introduced to Epstein “through people I trusted in my professional and philanthropic work.”
“Epstein claimed he could raise billions of dollars for global health from people for whom he provided tax and estate services,” Gates said.
He said he recalled “being aware that Epstein had faced prior legal issues, but I did not fully understand the extent of the crimes he committed.”
“I accepted the introduction without applying the scrutiny I should have,” Gates said.
He said he had three meetings with Epstein in 2011 and two meetings in 2012, “during which I talked about the goals of my work.”
“We began more extensive conversations in 2013 and 2014. The discussions focused on identifying potential giving structures, such as donor-advised funds, and how to enroll individuals he claimed were interested in making significant contributions,” Gates said.
He also said: “I made it clear to Epstein from the outset that he would never play a role in any of the work or receive any compensation.”
By 2014, “after Epstein brought together a group he described as potential donors, I realized that our prior discussions — which should have translated into meaningful philanthropic support — were a dead-end.”
“It was clear that no one in the group was interested enough to move forward,” Gates said.
“At that point, I concluded Epstein would never deliver on his promises,” Gates said. “I told him we would go no further and stopped communicating or meeting with him. No vehicle for charitable giving was ever created and no funds were raised.”
Gates said that after that, “I learned Epstein had become aware of sensitive information about my personal life, including the fact that I had been unfaithful in my marriage.”
“These affairs had nothing to do with my interactions with Epstein, but they were painful for my family,” Gates said.
“As the public can now see, based on what has been released in the files, Epstein was working to use information about my infidelities — in addition to many lies that he layered on top — to pressure me to re-engage with him,” Gates said.
“He was unsuccessful in this effort, but it shows some of the ways he tried to leverage his interactions with me to further his agenda.”
“If the time I spent with Epstein lent him any credibility, I am deeply sorry,” Gates said.
“I have learned a significant lesson and am now far more careful about who I engage with even in a limited capacity.”
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., a member of the committee, told reporters, “I’m looking forward to learning more about what Bill Gates saw with regard to Jeffrey Epstein and women.”
“I just find it very unusual that Bill Gates associated with Jeffrey Epstein, that Jeffrey Epstein had gotten his claws into Microsoft and known so many senior executives there, and so I think that will also be further grounds for questioning going forward,” Krishnamoorthi said.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that Gates was preparing for his testimony with the help of Jake Greenberg, who until December was the oversight committee’s chief investigations counsel.
CNBC has requested comment from Greenberg.
In February, Gates apologized to staff at a Gates Foundation town hall for his association with Epstein, and admitted he had affairs with two Russian women, according to The Wall Street Journal, which noted that Epstein had become aware of the affairs.
“I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” Gates said during that mea culpa session, according to the Journal.
But Gates also reportedly said at the event that “it was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein” and bring foundation executives into meetings with Epstein.
“I apologize to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made,” Gates reportedly said.
The Gates Foundation previously announced it had commissioned an external review of the philanthropy’s past ties with Epstein. The foundation said it expected that its board and management would receive an update about the review this summer.
Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett, a longtime friend of Gates, told CNBC’s Becky Quick in late March that he had not spoken to the Microsoft co-founder “since the whole thing” with the Epstein files “was unveiled.”
“I don’t want to be in a position where I know things … to be called as a witness,” Buffett said. “I think until it gets cleared up, it doesn’t make sense to do a lot of talking.”
Buffett called Epstein a con man who exploited the weaknesses of other people.
“Men are going to like sex … and some of them are going to like not paying taxes, and he figured out their weaknesses,” Buffett said.
Buffett has donated more than $43 billion to the Gates Foundation since 2006.
— Karen James Sloan contributed to this report.
