Melinda French Gates said she was upset by Bill Gates’ previous meetings with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, he told Microsoft Corp. MSFT -1.06% of the co-founder’s previous affair and said the two have a working relationship focused on philanthropy, speaking in their first television interview since she and Mr Gates divorced last year.
Ms. French Gates said in an interview with CBS on Thursday that there were many things that led to the divorce of the billionaires, but she did not like the fact that Mr. Gates had meetings with Mr. Epstein and made this clear to Mr. Gates. She said she herself had met Mr Epstein once. “I wanted to see who this person was and I regretted it from the second I stepped on the door,” said French Gates in an interview. “Then I had nightmares; my heart breaks for these young women. ”
Ms. French Gates and Mr. Gates announced their divorce in May 2021, with the former saying in documents that the marriage was “irrevocably broken.” The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Ms. French Gates was concerned about her ex-husband’s meetings with Mr. Epstein, and her concerns date back to 2013. The newspaper also reported that Ms. French Gates and her lawyers on divorce have made a number of calls in October 2019, when there were media reports that Mr. Gates had met with Mr. Epstein repeatedly.
Ms French Gates said that any additional questions about Mr Gates’ relationship with Mr Epstein should be answered by Mr Gates. In a statement issued by his spokesman on Thursday, Mr Gates said: “Meeting with Epstein was a mistake that I deeply regret. He said he remained committed to his work at the Gates Foundation in partnership with Ms. French Gates. Mr Epstein died in prison in August 2019 pending a trial on federal charges. related to sexual trafficking.
Ms. French Gates admitted her pain, anger and pain during and after the divorce. She also referred to Mr Gates’ affair in 2000, saying she believed in forgiveness. Asked if Mr Gates had had many affair, Ms French Gates said he had to answer those questions.
“Not one moment or one thing happened,” said French Gates. “There just came a time when there was enough out there that I realized it just wasn’t healthy and I couldn’t trust what we had.”
The newspaper reported that a letter from a Microsoft employee in 2019 about her past affair with Mr. Gates prompted some members of the Microsoft board to investigate, and Mr. Gates resigned from the board amid that investigation. A spokeswoman for Gates said there was an affair almost 20 years ago and that his decision to leave Microsoft in 2020 was unrelated.
Ms. French Gates also said the two still have a working relationship and remain co-chairs of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the world’s largest philanthropists with donations of more than $ 50 billion. The Gates Foundation recently nominated new board members, adding outsiders for the first time as part of efforts to add more governance and independence to the organization.
“I believe in this institution, I believe in what we do; my values are embedded in this institution, “said Ms. French Gates in an interview with CBS. She said she would sometimes shed tears soon before the foundation’s online meeting, but still agreed and that the two could continue to do so.
In July, the foundation said that if two years later the co-chairs decided they could no longer work together to run the foundation, Ms. French Gates would resign as co-chair and trustee under a private agreement in their divorce. If this happens, Ms. French Gates will receive funds from Mr. Gates that are separate from the foundation’s donations to her own philanthropic work.
“We certainly have a working relationship,” Ms. French Gates said in an interview with CBS. “I would say that we are friendly at the moment.”
Ms. French Gates at the end of 2021 published a new promise to give, pledging again to distribute most of his wealth, but did not specify that he will go only to the Gates Foundation. In the letter, she also cites her own company, Pivotal Ventures, which focuses on issues affecting women and families.
“I believe that if you are lucky enough to be a billionaire, believe me, you can give half of it and not change your life,” she told CBS.
Write to Emily Glaser at [email protected]
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