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Bill Gates ignored warnings from multiple Gates Foundation employees to avoid Jeffrey Epstein, an external review has found.
The tech billionaire and staff at his charitable foundation had roughly 30 meetings with Epstein from 2011 to 2014 to discuss establishing a donor-advised fund to support public health, according to the five-month review conducted by law firm WilmerHale.
The meetings included several visits to the [child predator's] Manhattan townhouse and one meeting on the Gates Foundation campus, according to an executive summary of the review obtained by the Daily Mail.
WilmerHale, which conducted more than 50 interviews with current and former foundation staffers, found no evidence that these meetings involved illegal conduct.
Gates was aware that Epstein had been convicted in Florida for soliciting underage [sexual intercourse] when the pair began conversations in 2011, the review found.
Staff warned Gates about Epstein ties
Foundation staff working on the donor-advised fund 'raised on multiple occasions the risks of associating with Epstein because of his prior conviction, and those concerns were raised to senior leadership, including Mr Gates,' WilmerHale wrote in the executive summary.
Gates cut ties with Epstein in 2014 after he realized the public health fund would never materialize, he told his employees at a town hall in February. The new report pinpoints the fallout to a meeting that took place at Epstein's Manhattan townhouse.
Gates, 70, has not been accused in connection with Epstein's crimes and has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Epstein's abuse of girls.
He says he bitterly regrets their association, which his ex-wife Melinda French Gates said was partly to blame for their divorce.
The Gates Foundation launched an investigation into its associations with Epstein after the Microsoft co-founder's name appeared in the trove of documents released by the Justice Department as part of its Epstein probe.
The Epstein files include the names of powerful men across tech, finance, politics and business, all of whom have denied involvement in Epstein's crimes.
Gates has repeatedly denied witnessing or participating in Epstein's crimes. He told a congressional committee last month that he made a 'grave error in judgment' by meeting with the disgraced financier.
Epstein proposed global health investment fund
His association with Epstein began when an adviser to both the foundation and Gates' personal office introduced the two men, according to the WilmerHale review.
Three years earlier, Epstein had pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Epstein recommended that Gates establish a charitable investment fund to pool wealthy individuals' gifts for global public health.
Staff followed up with Epstein at Gates' request on the legal considerations and tax benefits to donors.
Those discussions led to a December 2014 breakfast at Epstein's Manhattan residence with Gates, foundation staff and potential donors.
Gates concluded that Epstein had 'misrepresented' the donors' willingness to contribute, according to the review, and the foundation stopped working on the concept.
Epstein also brought together Gates and the head of a nonprofit that would eventually receive money from the foundation.
In 2012, the review concluded, Epstein introduced Gates to Terje Rød-Larsen, then the president of the International Peace Institute.
The Gates Foundation reached a grant agreement the following year with the International Peace Institute related to polio eradication. Rød-Larsen resigned in 2020 over his connections to Epstein.
Epstein was federally indicted in July 2019 on charges of [sexual intercourse] trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit [sexual intercourse] trafficking of minors. He died by [self-death] while awaiting trial.
Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman, in a statement announcing the conclusion of the review, said the board unanimously approved measures that will strengthen their vetting process and risk management.
'The work we do depends on integrity and earning and maintaining the trust of partners,' Suzman said in a press release.
'That's why we welcome the findings of this external review and are moving forward with Board-approved actions to further strengthen how we vet partners, manage risk and ensure accountability going forward. I appreciate the support of Bill and the independent Board members through this process.'
Gates pledges stronger foundation oversight
Gates added: 'Completing this review is an important step in providing the clarity that partners, employees, and grantees deserve as well as strengthening our oversight with additional policies going forward.
'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.'
WilmerHale noted that its five-month review did not include access to Gates' personal communications or encompass Epstein's interactions with Gates in a personal capacity.
The release of the Gates Foundation summary follows last week's revelation that Warren Buffett, a longtime friend of Gates who has put the majority of his charitable gifts toward the tech billionaire's philanthropy, omitted the Gates Foundation from his annual donations this year.
Buffett explained that the decision was more about his belief that his three children are ready to manage his fortune than it was about Gates' 'distasteful' association with Epstein.
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