Billionaire Bill Gates told a congressional committee on Wednesday that he never had a personal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, and cut ties with the convicted sex offender when he could not deliver on fundraising for the Microsoft founder's philanthropic efforts.
Gates appeared voluntarily in Washington at a closed-door hearing with the House Oversight Committee looking into Epstein and reportedly named powerful people Epstein approached for fundraising.
He also shed light on his marital infidelities, saying Epstein had used them to pressure him.
Panel members said the testimony showed Epstein was a "friend collector" and associated with people like Gates to "project power and influence".
In his opening statement, Gates said he never witnessed Epstein engaged in ongoing criminal conduct, nor had any indication of it.
"I never went to his island, his ranch, or his Florida home. I have never victimized anyone," he said. "While he may have sought to foster a personal relationship, I was never interested in that and never reciprocated."
He also said he hoped "the survivors of Epstein's crimes can get the justice that they deserve".
Gates joins former President Bill Clinton, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and other powerful figures who have been questioned by the bipartisan committee.
Epstein killed himself in a jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial, and his long-time associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, is serving a 20-year prison term. She appeared virtually before the committee in February, but invoked her right to refuse to answer questions.
When the US Department of Justice (DOJ) published millions of pages of documents linked to the criminal investigation of Epstein in January, Gates's name was mentioned thousands of times and he appeared in several photos alongside Epstein.
He has denied any wrongdoing and knowing about Epstein's illegal activity.
In his opening statement, Gates echoed an interview from earlier this year where he said he exercised poor judgement in meeting Epstein and was "one of many people who regret ever knowing him".
One photo released by the DOJ appears to show Gates near an aircraft with Epstein's pilot present. Gates has said he travelled with Epstein on a private jet.
Other documents include draft emails attributed to Epstein, containing a series of unverified and disputed claims about Gates's personal life. These include allegations that Epstein facilitated "illicit trysts" with "married women" for Gates, that Gates had contracted a sexually-transmitted infection (STI) from what Epstein called "Russian girls", and that he "helped Bill get drugs" to treat it.
A separate email alleged Gates sought to "surreptitiously" give his then-wife Melinda antibiotics to protect her from the same infection. Gates denies these claims but has admitted having had affairs with two Russian women.
"Epstein was working to use information about my infidelities - in addition to many lies that he layered on top - to pressure me to re-engage with him," Gates said in his opening statement.
The men's association began in 2011, three years after Epstein was convicted in Florida on two charges of soliciting prostitution, and grew as they discussed potential fundraising for Gates's global health initiative, he told the panel.
Gates said he made it clear from the outset that Epstein would never play a role in his foundation's work or receive any compensation.
The committee's top Democrat, Robert Garcia, told reporters in an update on the hearing that "Gates was aware that Jeffrey Epstein could be convicted for a horrific crime, and continued to interact with him to seek money for his foundation".
Gates told the committee that in 2014, after Epstein brought together a group he described as potential donors, he "realized that our prior discussions - which should have translated into meaningful philanthropic support - were a dead-end", adding it was clear that no one in the group was interested in moving forward.
"At that point, I concluded Epstein would never deliver on his promises," he said. "I told him we would go no further and stopped communicating or meeting with him."
Democrats on the committee said Gates gave the names of the people Epstein gathered, but did not share them publicly.
Republican committee member Tim Burchett said the questions "are very intense" and Gates was couched in his replies.
"It's pretty clear to me, though, that Epstein was a friend collector. He just liked to have people around him that were big deal and get his picture made with them and hang out with them, and I think that's how he reeled them," Burchett said.
He also told reporters that Gates looked "down-trodden for a guy worth several billions".
Garcia and other committee Democrats said Gates spoke about Epstein's draft emails and insisted he was never introduced to women or girls or anyone underage by Epstein.
"Some of his answers show us that many of the men who engaged with Jeffrey Epstein only saw what they wanted to see in their interactions," said Democrat Emily Randall.
Gates told staff at his foundation in February that he was aware of some "18-month thing" that had limited Epstein's travel, but that he didn't properly check his background.
Lawmakers probed Gates on how plausible it is that he – one of the titans of the information sphere - would have remained largely incurious about the details of Epstein's background, including facts that were already in the public domain.
With additional reporting by Chief North America Correspondent Gary O'Donoghue
