An external review commissioned by the Gates Foundation found no evidence of wrongdoing in its dealings with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. However, the investigation, conducted by lawyers at WilmerHale, did not include any of Bill Gates’ personal emails.
The summary of the report, released this week, revealed that Gates and foundation employees met with Epstein approximately 30 times between 2011 and 2014, despite internal warnings about potential reputational damage.
These meetings, which included visits to Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse and a gathering at the Gates Foundation campus, reportedly focused on a potential public health fund and a grant for the International Peace Institute, an organization led by an associate of Epstein's. The public health fund was never established.
WilmerHale conducted over 50 interviews with current and former foundation employees, including Gates himself. The review concluded there was “no evidence” that the Gates Foundation paid Epstein, engaged in illegal activities, or was aware of his sex-trafficking crimes.
The foundation initiated this review after Gates and some staff members were named in documents released by the Department of Justice related to Epstein. These files contained extensive communications between Epstein and various public figures, celebrities, and financiers.
In sworn testimony to Congress last month, Bill Gates acknowledged having extramarital affairs with two Russian women. He stated that Epstein became aware of these infidelities and attempted to leverage the information to force a reconnection after their ties were severed.
Gates stated he was introduced to Epstein in 2011, three years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor and four years after he reached a non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors. Gates asserted that his relationship with Epstein concluded by December 2014.
Gates has not been accused of any criminal offenses and has expressed regret for his association with Epstein, calling his decision to meet with him a “grave error in judgment.”
"Completing this review is an important step in providing the clarity that partners, employees and grantees deserve," Gates said in a statement Tuesday.
The Gates Foundation, one of the world's largest philanthropic organizations, has faced recent shifts in donor relationships. Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, announced last week that he would end his longtime practice of donating stock to the Gates Foundation. Buffett, who has been friends with Gates for about 35 years, described Gates' ties to Epstein as “distasteful” but also acknowledged that everyone makes mistakes.
For over two decades, the Gates Foundation, co-founded by Bill Gates and his ex-wife Melinda French Gates, was the primary beneficiary of Buffett's annual donations, having received more than $47 billion in Berkshire stock since 2006.
The foundation released the summary of the five-month review and has not indicated whether the full report will be made public. The foundation's board has committed to enhancing its governance and internal processes in light of the review's findings.