Gates Foundation review finds 30 meetings with Jeffrey Epstein despite staff alarms

Newyork,UPDATED: Jul 21, 2026 23:32 IST

An external review commissioned by the Gates Foundation has found that Bill Gates and foundation staff met convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein more than two dozen times between 2011 and 2014, even as employees raised concerns about the reputational risk of working with him. The meetings centred on discussions over a public health fund that was never set up and a grant to the Peace Institute, which was run by an associate of Epstein.

The review, conducted by law firm WilmerHale, found no evidence that the foundation paid Epstein or did anything illegal. The foundation released a three-page summary of the report on Tuesday, but did not say whether it would make the full version public.

According to the review, the roughly 30 meetings included several visits to Epstein's Manhattan townhouse and one meeting on the Gates Foundation campus. Gates, who chairs the foundation, has not been accused in connection with Epstein's crimes and has repeatedly denied knowing about Epstein's abuse of girls. He told a congressional committee last month that he had made a "grave error in judgment" by meeting Epstein.

Gates' name also appears in the documents released by the US Justice Department as part of its Epstein probe. The files include the names of powerful men from technology, finance, politics and business, all of whom have denied involvement in Epstein's crimes. Epstein was federally indicted in July 2019 on charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors. He died by suicide while awaiting trial.

The review said the association began after an adviser to both the foundation and Gates' personal office introduced the two men. By then, Epstein had already pleaded guilty three years earlier to soliciting prostitution from a minor. Epstein later suggested that Gates create a charitable investment fund to pool donations from wealthy individuals for global public health. At Gates' request, staff followed up with Epstein on legal issues and tax benefits for donors. Those discussions led to a breakfast at Epstein's Manhattan home in December 2014 attended by Gates, foundation staff and potential donors. The review said Gates later concluded that Epstein had "misrepresented" the donors' willingness to contribute, after which the foundation dropped the idea.

The review also said Epstein introduced Gates in 2012 to Terje Rod-Larsen, then president of the Peace Institute. The Gates Foundation signed a grant agreement with the institute the following year in connection with polio eradication. Rod-Larsen resigned in 2020 over his links to Epstein. Throughout these dealings, the review said, Gates knew about Epstein's sex offence and was aware of concerns raised by staff involved in the charitable fund discussions.

The release of the foundation's summary came days after Warren Buffett, a longtime friend of Gates and a major donor to his philanthropy, left the Gates Foundation out of his annual donations this year. Buffett said the move was driven more by his view that his three children were ready to manage his fortune than by Gates' "distasteful" association with Epstein.

Gates Foundation chief executive Mark Suzman said the board had approved steps to strengthen vetting and risk management. "The work we do depends on integrity and earning and maintaining the trust of partners," Suzman said in a press release. WilmerHale said its five-month review did not include access to Gates' personal communications and did not cover Epstein's interactions with Gates in a personal capacity. In sum, the review found repeated contact between Gates, foundation staff and Epstein over charitable work, while finding no evidence of illegal conduct by the foundation.

With PTI Inputs

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