Bill Gates says he regrets ‘every minute’ with Epstein

Bill Gates regrets his association with Jeffrey Epstein, denying accusations while Melinda French Gates reflects on painful memories.

Bill Gates has voiced regret over “every minute” he spent with Jeffrey Epstein, even as the Microsoft co-founder’s former wife Melinda said he still had questions to answer over his relationship with the convicted sexual offender.

The latest tranche of documents released by the U.S. Justice Department last week contained emails between many prominent figures and Epstein, often revealing warm friendships, illicit financial dealings and private photos.

In a draft email among the documents, Epstein alleged Mr. Gates engaged in extramarital affairs, writing that his relationship with Mr. Gates ranged from “helping Bill to get drugs, in order to deal with consequences of sex with russian girls, to facilitating his illicit trysts, with married women.”

“Every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologise,” Mr. Gates, a billionaire philanthropist, told 9News Australia in an interview broadcast Wednesday (February 4, 2026).

“That email was never sent. The email is false,” he said. “I don’t know what his thinking was there. Was he trying to attack me in some way?”

A Gates spokesperson issued a similar denial after the fresh cache of millions of files related to the investigation into Epstein, who died in prison in 2019, were released.