In a candid interview with NPR’s Wild Card podcast, philanthropist Melinda French Gates has broken her silence regarding the recently unsealed court documents connecting her ex-husband Bill Gates to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Microsoft co-founder’s inclusion in these records has reportedly triggered painful recollections of her marriage’s most difficult chapters.
Speaking with palpable emotion, French Gates expressed profound sorrow regarding the Epstein allegations, stating that all individuals named in the judicial files—including her former spouse—bear responsibility for addressing these serious claims. “I am so happy to be away from all the muck,” she remarked, referencing the couple’s 2021 divorce after 27 years of marriage.
The documents released by the U.S. Justice Department contain unverified assertions allegedly drafted by Epstein, including one particularly inflammatory email suggesting Gates contracted a sexually transmitted disease. A spokesperson for Bill Gates has vehemently denied these allegations, characterizing them as “absolutely absurd and completely false” fabrications from a “proven, disgruntled liar.”
Notably, legal experts emphasize that Gates’ appearance in these documents does not imply criminal conduct, and he has never been accused of wrongdoing by any of Epstein’s victims. The correspondence in question consists primarily of two unsent emails from Epstein’s account dated July 18, 2013, which lack digital signatures and show no evidence of actual transmission to Gates.
One bizarre message masquerades as a resignation letter from the Gates Foundation, containing fantastical claims about procuring medicine for Gates. Another begins “dear Bill” and alleges attempted cover-ups of sexually transmitted infections. These documents form part of a massive trove of over three million records illuminating Epstein’s extensive network of influential associates, which surprisingly endured even after his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor.
Bill Gates’ representatives have consistently minimized his association with Epstein, maintaining they shared only “several dinners” discussing an unrealized philanthropy project. Following the latest document release, a Gates spokesperson suggested the emails demonstrate “Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame.”
This development revisits earlier reports that French Gates had expressed concerns about her husband’s Epstein connections prior to their separation. The Gates divorce announcement in 2021 coincided with Bill Gates acknowledging an extramarital affair with a Microsoft employee in 2019.
Epstein died in a New York correctional facility in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, leaving numerous questions about his international network unanswered.