Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has admitted that he was involved in two extramarital affairs with Russian women while married to Melinda French Gates and has issued a groveling apology for his links to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. One of the Russian women Gates is believed to have an affair with is Russian bridge player Mila Antonova.
Gates, 70, spoke candidly with staff at his foundation on Tuesday, admitting that he had traveled on a private jet with the disgraced financier and spent time with him both in the United States and overseas. He stressed, however, that while he was in those settings, he was never involved in any criminal activity.
Gates Open
"I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit," Gates said in the town hall meeting. "To be clear, I never spent any time with the victims, the women around him," he added. Gates first met Epstein in 2011, years after Epstein's Florida conviction for soliciting a minor and continued to spend time with him, even as French Gates reportedly raised concerns.
While the billionaire has always denied any wrongdoing connected to Epstein, he has since acknowledged allegations of infidelity during his marriage. French Gates filed for divorce in 2021, bringing an end to their 27-year relationship.
"I did have affairs, one with a Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist who I met through business activities," he told staffers.
Epstein had earlier threatened Gates over his alleged affair with Antonova. So who is Mila Antonova?
Epstein reportedly wanted Gates to invest in a multibillion-dollar charitable fund back in 2013 but he refused to do so.
According to a 2023 IBT report, Gates met Antonova at a tournament in 2010 and had an affair with her around the same time. Gates has previously mentioned bridge as one of his favorite pastimes. She was in her 20s, and Gates was 55.
In a 2010 video on her love of bridge, Antonova admitted that she was friendly with Gates. However, sources told the Wall Street Journal that the two had a brief romantic relationship while Gates was still married to Melinda.
Epstein met Antonova in 2013 when she was seeking funding to launch an online bridge platform. Although he didn't fund the project, Epstein eventually paid for her to enroll in a software coding school.
The 'threat' wasn't made until Epstein wrote to Gates in 2017, asking for reimbursement for Antonova's coding school in a tone that suggested he was aware of the romance and had the ability to make it public.
The email was sent shortly after the tech giant turned down the convicted sex offender's invitation to join his multibillion-dollar organization, insiders told the newspaper.
Exposed and Regretting
In a July 4, 2013, email to Boris Nikolic, Epstein alleged that Gates had been involved in affairs with two women. In the message, Epstein ominously suggested that the women could end up "becoming overnight sensations."
Just a few weeks after that, Epstein sent an email to himself framed as a "resignation," appearing to write it as though it had come from Nikolic. "During the past few weeks I have been caught up in a severe marital dispute between Melinda and Bill," the email said.
The message went on to imply that Nikolic had helped Gates obtain medication to cope with what it described as the fallout from sexual encounters with Russian women. Nikolic has firmly rejected that claim, saying the emails were neither written by him nor authorized by him.
Speaking during the town hall, Gates also admitted that he had spent time with Epstein in places including New York, Germany, France, and Washington. However, he was clear in stating that he never traveled to Epstein's private island.
Gates acknowledged that his former wife had long been uneasy about his association with Epstein. Reflecting on that, he said, "To give her credit, she was always kind of skeptical about the Epstein thing."
Gates also admitted that his past connection with Epstein didn't just affect him personally, but had repercussions for others as well, including people working within the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
"I apologize to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake I made," he said.
"It definitely is the opposite of the values of the foundation and the goals of the foundation."
"Bill risks going from richest man to biggest hypocrite, Melinda a laughing stock, pledges will disappear as a result," Epstein told Nikolic.
