Gates Foundation met with Epstein about 30 times despite staff concerns, review says

Bill Gates and the staff of his charitable foundation met with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein more than two dozen times even as employees expressed concerns about the reputational risk of working with him, an external review commissioned by the Gates Foundation finds.

The conversations appeared to focus on a public health fund that never materialized and a grant to the International Peace Institute, which was run by an associate of Epstein.

The roughly 30 meetings, which took place from 2011 to 2014, included several visits to Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse and one meeting on the Gates Foundation campus, according to the review by law firm WilmerHale. The review finds no evidence the foundation paid Epstein or did anything illegal. The foundation releases a three-page summary of WilmerHale’s report and does not say if it will release the full version.

Gates, who chairs the Gates Foundation, has not been accused in connection with Epstein’s crimes and has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of girls. He told a congressional committee last month that he made a “grave error in judgment” by meeting with the disgraced financier.

Gates’ name appears in the trove of documents released by the Justice Department as part of its Epstein probe. The Epstein files include the names of powerful men across tech, finance, politics and business, all of whom have denied involvement in Epstein’s crimes.

Epstein was federally indicted in July 2019 on charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors. He died by suicide while awaiting trial.

Throughout their interactions, according to the review, Gates knew about Epstein’s sex offense and heard concerns about their association from staff working with Epstein on the charitable investment fund.

Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman says the board has approved measures that will strengthen their vetting process and risk management.

“The work we do depends on integrity and earning and maintaining the trust of partners,” Suzman says in a press release. The foundation offered no further comment.