SerpApi.Org
Bill Gates ignored numerous warnings about the reputational risks of associating with Jeffrey Epstein, an independent review has suggested.
Staff at the Gates Foundation, a philanthropic organisation spearheaded by Mr Gates, “raised on multiple occasions” concerns about the pair’s association after Epstein was convicted on a child sex offence in 2008.
Those concerns were raised directly with Mr Gates, as well as with other senior leadership at his Gates Foundation, a report led by law firm WilmerHale has found.
Mr Gates was also “aware of reputational concerns related to Epstein’s prior conviction” when he pursued the sex offender in 2011 to secure donations for his philanthropic work, it said.
The review into the Gates Foundation’s institutional dealings with Epstein was commissioned by the organisation earlier this year. The charity published a three-page summary of WilmerHale’s findings on Tuesday but did not say whether it would release a full version.
Mr Gates and staff at his foundation met with the paedophile around 30 times from 2011 to 2014 even as senior leaders expressed misgivings, the report found.
This included “several meetings at Epstein’s Manhattan residence” and another at the Gates Foundation’s headquarters in Washington DC, the review said.
It found no evidence of any “participation in or knowledge of” Epstein’s sex trafficking operation or criminal activities, and said there was no evidence that Epstein was paid by the Gates Foundation.
The review, based on around 50 interviews with Gates Foundation staff including Mr Gates, did not investigate Mr Gates’s personal relationship with Epstein or any private communications outside his philanthropic work.
The Microsoft co-founder told US Congress last month that he believed Epstein was plotting to blackmail him after learning of his extramarital affairs.
In closed-door testimony to US politicians in June, Mr Gates named three women he had affairs with and suggested that the paedophile financier “contemplated blackmailing me” after learning of his unfaithfulness.
Mr Gates also told congressmen that he decided it was still worth courting Epstein in a “limited role” despite knowing about his sex offence conviction because he thought the financier could secure donations for his global health charities.
The businessman has not been accused in connection with Epstein’s sex abuse and has repeatedly denied knowledge of the financier’s crimes. Mr Gates told the congressional committee last month it was a “grave error in judgement” to associate with him.
The independent review by WilmerHale said meetings between the pair largely involved Epstein’s promises to help create a donor fund for the Gates Foundation, which never came to fruition.
It described a breakfast meeting at Epstein’s New York mansion in 2014, in which Mr Gates was disappointed to learn that the financier had “misrepresented” the level of interest from high-profile individuals.
The Gates Foundation stopped working on the donor fund plans with Epstein “soon thereafter”, the report said.
The Gates Foundation has come under considerable scrutiny over its alleged ties to Epstein, with the organisation losing a longtime donor over the saga earlier this month.
Warren Buffett, a billionaire investor and philanthropist, announced last week he had halted donations to the charity, ending a two-decade philanthropic partnership worth around $47bn (£35bn).
Mr Buffett did not mention Mr Gates by name, but for the first time since 2006 left the Gates Foundation off a list of firms that will receive billions of dollars of his company’s stock.
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The Gates Foundation said on Tuesday it would strengthen its vetting procedures and create an “escalation process for organisational risk” in light of revelations about Epstein.
Mr Gates, the charity’s chairman, said: “The work the foundation does to save lives and unlock opportunities so people everywhere can lead healthier, more productive lives, is more important than ever.
“We are committed to ensuring trust and transparency are never compromised.”
