Newly Emails Detail Friction Between Bill, Melinda Gates Over Epstein
Bill Gates’s long-rumored ties to Jeffrey Epstein resurfaced this month with the release of newly disclosed text messages — and the communications paint an even clearer picture of how cozy the relationship once was before Melinda French Gates intervened.
The messages, included in the latest tranche of Epstein-related documents reviewed by RadarOnline.com, show that Gates’s own adviser acknowledged that Melinda had effectively shut down further dealings with the convicted sex offender. The exchanges reveal a back-channel rapport between Gates and Epstein that persisted well into 2017.
According to the records, Epstein had been discussing a potential venture with Gates’s team. But the project fizzled quickly — not because the idea fell apart, but because Gates’s wife insisted the relationship end.
“He wants to talk to you, but his wife won’t let him,” Gates’ adviser told Epstein, per the outlet.
The adviser later followed up with a series of messages making clear just how familiar Epstein believed the relationship to be, saying Epstein “loves you,” “says hi,” and “feels bad” about stepping away from their business proposals. Another message underscored Melinda’s veto: “He thought great idea, but his wife wouldn’t allow it.”
The Gateses finalized their divorce in 2021 after nearly three decades of marriage. Melinda has been unusually candid about the role Epstein played in her decision to leave, stating that Gates’s willingness to meet with a known sex offender deeply troubled her.
“I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein. I made that clear to him,” she said at the time, adding she met Epstein “exactly one time.”
Gates later issued his own statement in 2022, writing: “Meeting with Epstein was a mistake that I regret deeply. It was a substantial error in judgment.
“I remain dedicated to my work at the Gates Foundation in partnership with Melinda, where our focus is to help reduce global inequities, giving every person the chance to live a healthy and productive life.”
RadarOnline.com reports that the newly revealed text messages were exchanged while Epstein and Gates’s adviser were preparing for an annual Washington, D.C., banquet — a setting Epstein hoped to use to advance a donor-advised fund he wanted Gates to participate in. The fund, which would have given Epstein substantial influence over large charitable dollars, initially drew Gates’s interest before Melinda stepped in.
After being told that Gates “loves” him but couldn’t proceed, Epstein attempted one more push. He suggested that former Obama White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler “would love to sit with Melinda and give her the other side of Jeffrey,” according to the texts.
RadarOnline.com also reported that Epstein allegedly threatened to reveal an affair Gates was said to have had with Russian bridge player Mila Antonova in 2017 after Gates refused to join Epstein’s massive charitable fund proposal.
Melinda addresses both Epstein and her former husband's infidelity in her memoir released in April. She wrote: “Bill has publicly acknowledged that he wasn’t always faithful to me,” adding, “That October, things had reached a fever pitch when The New York Times published a deeply disturbing article that raised serious questions about Bill’s conduct – questions that suggested he had betrayed not only our marriage but also my values.”
While the Gates-Epstein revelations continue to raise questions about the entanglements of America’s elite, President Donald Trump moved decisively on Wednesday to bring long-buried information into public view. He signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law, forcing the Department of Justice to release all unclassified records tied to Epstein.
The legislation sailed through Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support — a 421–1 vote in the House and unanimous consent in the Senate — reflecting broad agreement that the American public deserves answers.
Under the law, the Justice Department must publish investigative materials, communications, and other documents related to Epstein and longtime associate Ghislaine Maxwell in a searchable online database, with victim identities and active-investigation details appropriately redacted.
Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed the department would comply. “The department will release the files online in a searchable format within the required 30-day period,” she told reporters after the signing.