The Microsoft founder Bill Gates told US members of Congress that the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had sought to “blackmail” him over his extramarital affairs, according to a transcript of the testimony.
The tech pioneer testified behind closed doors before the House oversight committee on 10 June regarding his friendship with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 as he awaited trial for sex crimes.
According to the transcript released by the committee on Tuesday, Gates spoke of “veiled” threats and said Epstein had considered exploiting his own knowledge of Gates’s extramarital affairs to force him to remain in Epstein’s orbit, even as Gates was distancing himself from Epstein.
“I was not blackmailed, but you know, as you look at these emails, you know, it looks like Mr Epstein’s brainstorming was going in that direction,” Gates added, referring to documents from the Epstein case released in January by the US Department of Justice.
Bill Gates says Epstein sought to blackmail him over extramarital affairs
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/24/bill-gates-epstein-transcript
21 Comments
FiniteBanjo@feddit.online · 38 pts · 40d
Kind of feels like he cared more about covering his own ass than revealing what he knew about Epstein.
BigMacHole@thelemmy.club · 35 pts · 40d
PLEASE have COMPASSION for the Billionaire Sexual Predator! Gates
NOTAND Epstein!-Republicans LITERALLY!
HarneyToker@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 40d
Nah, but this is further evidence that Epstein leveraged his associates.
Brkdncr@lemmy.world · 19 pts · 40d
This reads like he wasn’t blackmailed but after reading what his buddy Jeff was saying to others behind his back he thinks blackmail was a topic of discussion.
floofloof@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 40d
Don't assume Bill Gates is telling the truth. He will be spinning it to make himself look as good as he can.
resipsaloquitur@lemmy.cafe · 19 pts · 40d
Yes. "Affairs." With "women."
BurgerBaron@quokk.au · 13 pts · 40d
Sex trafficked "women." he left that part out.
resipsaloquitur@lemmy.cafe · 9 pts · 40d
I don’t think the “women” Bill had “extramarital affairs” with could legally buy lottery tickets.
reluctant_squidd@lemmy.ca · 18 pts · 40d
Not siding with any of them. The whole thing is despicable. But wasn’t blackmail the whole point?
Something so horrible that the rich and powerful would burn society to keep it secret? Having that kind of leverage on these creeps would be very advantageous for the even creepier creeps.
bigfish@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 11 pts · 40d
I'll take "How Trump is maintaining his strangle hold on the Republican party, for $200 Alex"
fizzle@quokk.au · 6 pts · 40d
I think the kompromat is what allowed them to function. None of them could move against epatein because he had evidence of their involvement.
sleepmode@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 40d
yeah we saw the damn emails where he’s asking Epstein if he knew one of the women he fucked was potentially a spy. And how to slip his wife medication for STDs. Months ago. It kind of annoys me they’re so slow to catch up.
Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 40d
Wait.....people are just NOW realizing that Gates is a monster? Really? In 2026, this is the first people realized he's not a good dude?
I could have told you this 30 years ago before Epstein even HAD an island. He ran Microsoft like a mob boss. You don't think he's spilled blood in the process?
I thought it was obvious.
stoy@lemmy.zip · 11 pts · 40d
His charity foundation has done it's primary job well....
ICastFist@programming.dev · 12 pts · 40d
Really telling that between "being exposed as an unfaithful husband" and "being "threatened" to be "friends" with the owner of pedo island", he preferred the latter.
WolvenSpectre@lemmy.ca · 9 pts · 40d
And this is news how? This all came out around his divorce. The Russian Hookers, the STDs he got, the thought that sometimes he was infecting his wife and the fact that he gave her half legally and gave her more to keep her quiet, and that they happened at a "rich friend's private Island". And then the Epstein Files showed some of this through the emails.
Gates was a monster that hung out with monsters that played as a philanthropist
quick_snail@feddit.nl · 1 pts · 40d
Uhh, this is news to me.
Zephorah@discuss.online · 5 pts · 40d
When men cheat I always think of Olympia Dukakis in Moonstruck.
https://youtu.be/SmLmSxPlYHE
apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 40d
Fuck Epstein but also fuck this sex trafficking billionaire. Rot in hell, Bill.
Drusas@fedia.io · 3 pts · 40d
Garbage article.
xSikes@feddit.online · 2 pts · 40d
Doubt it