By Aaron Miller-
Microsoft founder Bill Gates has revealed that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein appeared to be exploring ways to blackmail him over extramarital relationships, according to newly released congressional testimony that offers fresh insight into the billionaire’s controversial association with the disgraced financier.
The testimony, delivered behind closed doors to the House Oversight Committee on June 10 and released publicly this week, sheds new light on the nature of Gates’s interactions with Epstein and the concerns that emerged as the technology entrepreneur sought to distance himself from a man who had already been convicted of sex crimes involving minors.
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During questioning by congressional investigators, Gates described what he viewed as “veiled” threats from Epstein and suggested that the financier may have been considering using sensitive personal information to maintain influence over him. While Gates stopped short of saying he had been directly blackmailed, he told lawmakers that certain communications and draft emails uncovered during investigations into Epstein’s activities appeared to point in that direction.
“I was not blackmailed,” Gates told the committee. “But as you look at these emails, it looks like Mr. Epstein’s brainstorming was going in that direction.”
The remarks represent one of the strongest public characterisations yet by Gates of Epstein’s conduct toward him and add a new dimension to the long-running scrutiny surrounding the pair’s relationship.
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Gates, one of the world’s wealthiest individuals and a leading philanthropist through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has faced persistent questions about why he maintained contact with Epstein years after the financier had pleaded guilty to prostitution-related charges involving underage girls.
According to the testimony transcript, Gates pointed to documents that emerged from the Epstein investigation and were later released by the US Department of Justice. The records, he said, suggested that Epstein may have been contemplating ways to leverage knowledge of Gates’s personal life.
Under further questioning, Gates elaborated on his concerns. He stated that Epstein never directly sent him a message that he would describe as blackmail. Nevertheless, Gates said the drafts and communications he reviewed appeared to indicate that Epstein was rehearsing possible approaches that could be used against him.
“He never sent me anything that I would call blackmail,” Gates testified. “But it appeared that through draft emails, he was sort of rehearsing how either he, or coaching someone else, might choose to blackmail me.”
The comments underscore the complicated and increasingly uncomfortable relationship that developed between the two men during the early 2010s. Gates has repeatedly acknowledged that his interactions with Epstein were a major mistake, but has consistently denied any knowledge of the financier’s criminal activities beyond the widely publicised legal case that resulted in Epstein’s 2008 conviction.
In opening remarks submitted to the committee before the closed-door hearing, Gates firmly rejected any suggestion that he had participated in wrongdoing. He stated that he had never been aware of Epstein’s criminal conduct and emphasised that he had “never victimised anyone.”
The testimony comes amid renewed public interest in Epstein’s network of relationships with powerful figures in business, politics and entertainment. Although Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, investigations into his activities and associations have continued to generate headlines. Court filings, witness statements and government disclosures have revealed the extent of his connections to influential individuals around the world.
For Gates, the issue has become one of the most persistent controversies of his post-Microsoft career. In recent years, he has acknowledged exercising poor judgement in meeting with Epstein and has repeatedly expressed regret over the relationship. Critics, however, have questioned why a globally recognised philanthropist focused on public health and humanitarian causes would choose to associate with a man whose criminal record was already publicly known.
During his testimony, Gates explained that his relationship with Epstein began in 2011, approximately three years after Epstein’s guilty plea in Florida. By that point, Epstein’s conviction was already a matter of public record, and Gates acknowledged that he was aware that the financier had faced legal troubles.
“I knew that it was of a sexual nature,” Gates told lawmakers. “But no, I don’t think I knew, dug into the specifics, although I probably should have.”
That admission is likely to fuel further debate over the extent to which prominent figures should have investigated Epstein’s background before engaging with him. While Gates has maintained that he was unaware of the full details of the case, critics argue that Epstein’s conviction should have been sufficient reason to avoid any association.
Gates told the committee that part of the reason he initially engaged with Epstein was because he had been led to believe the financier possessed an extraordinary ability to attract funding for philanthropic projects. At the time, Gates was deeply involved in global health initiatives and efforts to combat infectious diseases and poverty through charitable investment.
According to Gates, he was informed that Epstein could potentially help mobilise billions of dollars in support of those causes. That prospect, he suggested, influenced his decision to meet with Epstein despite concerns about the financier’s past.
The explanation aligns with comments Gates has made in previous interviews. Earlier this year, he described his relationship with Epstein as a significant error in judgement and acknowledged that he had underestimated the risks associated with maintaining contact.
He also addressed questions about his personal life, admitting to extramarital affairs involving two Russian women while rejecting allegations that he had any connection to Epstein’s criminal activities.
The newly released congressional transcript provides a more detailed account of Gates’s perspective than previously available. It also offers insight into how he interpreted Epstein’s behaviour as their relationship deteriorated. Gates suggested that as he attempted to create distance, Epstein appeared reluctant to lose access to one of the world’s most influential business leaders and philanthropists.
The notion that Epstein may have contemplated leveraging personal information to preserve that relationship is likely to attract significant attention. For years, prosecutors, journalists and former associates have described Epstein as a master manipulator who cultivated relationships with wealthy and powerful individuals.
Allegations that he gathered information about prominent figures have circulated repeatedly, though evidence regarding the extent and purpose of such activities remains a subject of investigation and debate.
The release of the testimony also arrives against the backdrop of broader efforts to examine the network of contacts surrounding Epstein. Thousands of pages of documents have emerged through litigation, government disclosures and court proceedings, prompting intense public scrutiny of anyone whose name appears in connection with the case.
Legal experts and investigators have repeatedly cautioned, however, that the appearance of a person’s name in Epstein-related documents does not automatically imply wrongdoing. Many individuals encountered Epstein through social, professional or philanthropic circles, and the nature of those interactions varied widely. The existence of a connection, by itself, is not evidence of criminal conduct.
Nevertheless, the documents have proven significant because they often reveal relationships that some public figures previously minimised, disputed or failed to fully disclose. In that context, Gates’s testimony represents another chapter in the ongoing effort to understand how Epstein cultivated relationships with influential individuals and maintained access to elite circles despite his criminal history.
For Gates, the hearing offered an opportunity to address lingering questions directly under oath. While he denied ever being blackmailed, his account paints a picture of a relationship marked by growing unease and concern. The testimony suggests that Gates came to believe Epstein was exploring ways to exploit personal vulnerabilities, even if those efforts never progressed to explicit threats.
As congressional investigators continue examining the broader Epstein saga, Gates’s testimony is likely to remain a focal point. It provides a rare first-hand account from one of the world’s most prominent figures and adds fresh detail to the complex web of relationships that continues to draw scrutiny years after Epstein’s death.
More importantly, it highlights the enduring questions surrounding how a convicted sex offender managed to maintain connections with some of the most powerful people in the world—and what those individuals knew, or failed to know, about the man behind the façade.
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