Gates Foundation staffers told leaders of Epstein risks, review finds

Alex Halverson, The Seattle Times on Jul 21, 2026

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SEATTLE — Multiple Gates Foundation employees warned senior leaders of the nonprofit, including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, about the risks of associating with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to the findings of an external review.

Gates’ relationship with Epstein, which he maintains was strictly professional, has been intensely scrutinized since early this year, when documents released by the Justice Department linked the two. During a Q&A-style town hall in February with Gates Foundation employees, Gates said he met with Epstein several times per year between 2011 and 2014 but ultimately cut ties with him.

Gates apologized to employees during the Seattle town hall for putting the foundation’s reputation at risk.

Following the town hall, the Gates Foundation launched an external review to assess the foundation’s engagement with Epstein as well as its policies for vetting and developing new philanthropic partnerships. Gates said he met with Epstein to discuss a donor-advised fund to support public health, filled with money from Wall Street billionaires whom Epstein knew.

WilmerHale, the law firm tapped to conduct the review, released its findings on Tuesday. In a memo to the Gates Foundation, WilmerHale said it found no evidence Epstein was paid by the foundation, or that the nonprofit participated in or knew of Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation.

The memo said it identified roughly 30 meetings between Epstein and 10 foundation leaders and staff, including Gates, from 2011 through 2014. One meeting occurred on the Gates Foundation’s Seattle campus. WilmerHale said it found no evidence these meetings involved illegal conduct.

Based on the findings, the Gates Foundation’s governing board said in a news release that it approved a series of recommendations to change the vetting process for those who interact with the foundation.

Gates’ relationship with Epstein fizzled in 2014, after the Microsoft co-founder realized the promised fund was never going to materialize, he told Gates Foundation employees in February.

The review from WilmerHale, which was conducted with more than 50 interviews with current and former foundation employees, detailed what likely ended the relationship. Epstein hosted a breakfast meeting at his Manhattan residence with Gates, foundation staff and a group of potential donors in December 2014. Gates Foundation employees said it became clear during the meeting that potential donors were not informed about the fund and Epstein had misrepresented their involvement to Gates and the foundation’s staff.

The foundation stopped working with Epstein soon after the meeting.

Gates has repeatedly denied witnessing or participating in any of Epstein’s crimes, most recently doing so in front of the House Oversight Committee. The congressional panel interviewed Gates in June, as part of a broader probe into the federal government’s handling of its investigation into Epstein.

Gates said his relationship with Epstein never turned personal despite overtures from the notorious sex offender. When asked to characterize his relationship with Epstein, Gates told lawmakers that “he certainly wasn’t a friend.”

Gates also acknowledged that Epstein may have wanted to blackmail Gates after the end of their relationship, with knowledge of two affairs Gates previously had. Gates also disclosed a third affair to lawmakers in June.

Gates remains the main funder of the foundation.

The Gates Foundation’s longtime donor Warren Buffett skipped his annual donation to the foundation this year, but said it’s not because of Gates’ ties to Epstein.

“While it’s distasteful, while he made mistakes, I made mistakes, hiring all kinds of people, or choosing friends, and then finding out later that, one way or other, they weren’t what I thought they were. I found nothing in there that was beyond what I could picture myself doing,” Buffett said in an interview with CNBC released last week.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Microsoft Philanthropies and the Gates Foundation underwrite some Seattle Times journalism projects.

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