BILLIONAIRE and Microsoft co‑founder Bill Gates is scheduled to testify on 10 June before a US congressional committee investigating the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, a source familiar with the matter told Agence France‑Presse on Tuesday.
Gates’s appearance will take the form of a transcribed interview in a closed‑door session, the same format previously used for former US president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state and senator Hillary Clinton.
A spokesperson for Bill Gates said in an email to AFP that Gates “welcomes the opportunity to appear before the Committee. While he never witnessed or participated in any of Epstein’s illegal conduct, he is looking forward to answering all the committee’s questions to support their important work.”
The scheduled testimony follows the release of documents by the US Justice Department that name Gates among a number of prominent figures linked to Epstein, suggesting close friendships, undisclosed financial dealings and the sharing of private photographs.
In one draft email among the released documents, Epstein claimed Gates had engaged in extramarital affairs and that their relationship varied 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.”
Gates, 70, has publicly accepted that it was a “huge mistake” to associate with Epstein.
At a February town hall with employees of his charitable foundation, he acknowledged having two affairs, saying: “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 firmly denied any involvement with Epstein’s victims, stating: “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit.”
Gates has repeatedly explained that his interaction with Epstein began in 2011, three years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Gates also said he was aware of an “18‑month” travel restriction imposed on Epstein but did not verify his background, and that his then‑wife Melinda had expressed concerns about the relationship in 2013, although he continued contact with Epstein for at least another year. - April 8, 2026
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