Melinda French Gates has denounced her ex-husband Bill Gates’ association with the deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as a betrayal of their marriage and her values. These revelations in her memoir The Moment of Lift, and reported by Page Six, give some insight into a long-simmering dissension that contributed to their separation in 2021.
The Marriage Tainted by Epstein
The opposite of a publicity moment for him, the 2019 New York Times story about Gates’ meetings with Epstein in New York and other venues since 2011 printed hideously bright the candles on eight years before Epstein’s conviction of solicitation of a minor. In her words, it was a point of no return: “Things were starting to unravel that October. The Times’ story raised some very disturbing questions about Bill’s behavior- questions that made it very clear he had betrayed not only our marriage but my values.”
Though Melinda railed against the relationship previously, the choice of terms such as “betrayed” and “disturbing” marks a level of escalation.
Bill Gates: Defense Against and Menace from Epstein
Though Gates described his relationship with Epstein as a “mistake,” strictly for philanthropy. The Wall Street Journal had it that Epstein would later try to use that friendship for his gain.
Allegedly, in 2017, an email from Epstein to Gates demanded that Gates pay back tuition that Epstein had paid for a Russian bridge player, one with whom Gates had allegedly had an affair a few years before. The email seemed to contain a threat that if Gates did not remain connected, Epstein would consider exposing him.
Gates has since denied this allegation through an official spokesperson:
“Epstein unsuccessfully tried to weaponize a past relationship. Mr. Gates had dealings with him solely for philanthropy, and he regrets having done so.”
The Russian Bridge Player
The woman, Mila Antonova, told the WSJ that she did not know that Epstein had a criminal record when he funded her coding school in 2013:
“I thought he was just a businessman. I’m disgusted by what he did.”
Antonova and Gates met at a bridge tournament in 2010, and there is a light-hearted video from that year showing her joking that she would “kick him under the table” during play.
Epstein’s Criminal History and the Gates Connection
Epstein, who killed himself during jail time in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking, had established connections with a panoply of powerful people. Gates’ many encounters with Epstein are documented as follows:
- 2013 flight on Epstein’s private jet.
- 2014 meeting in New York City with other billionaires.
Melinda Moving On
In a CNN interview, Melinda talked about how their daughter was aware of the rupture:
“She understood why I needed to move on.”
After 27 years of marriage, the divorce became final in August 2021, with Melinda framing her time to move on as a stand for her principles, one that began the very same day of the Epstein story’s publishing.
