Bill Gates says he was “foolish” to spend time with Jeffrey Epstein

CNN host Anderson Cooper pressed Bill Gates about his past contacts with Jeffrey Epstein during an interview that ended with several seconds of silence before the network cut away.

Gates appeared on CNN Wednesday primarily to discuss an essay in which he warned that artificial intelligence companies were failing to acknowledge the technology’s genuine risks. Cooper shifted to Epstein at the end, noting that the appearance was Gates’ first television interview since he answered questions behind closed doors from the House Oversight Committee, which has been investigating Epstein’s crimes.

“What was the extent of your relationship with Epstein?” Cooper asked Gates. “Did you ever interact with any of his victims?”

“Yeah, I really appreciated the opportunity to go in and answer every question that day,” Gates responded. “And that’s all public. People are curious. I encourage them to look at that. You know, I went through every single meeting, every single email.”

Gates denied having a personal friendship with Epstein. He said, “I didn’t have a social relationship” with Epstein and added that he felt “apologetic” for lending him credibility.

“I didn’t meet any women through him,” Gates said. “I had a misguided view that he could facilitate my raising philanthropic funds for global health. It was a gigantic mistake, which I talk about in my testimony. I really learned from that.”

Cooper then raised an email attributed to Epstein and described the claims it contained as unverified.

Cooper said, “There was a series of graphic, unverified allegations against you that Epstein appears to have written himself in July 2013.” He told Gates the email suggested Epstein “was trying to blackmail you,” before asking, “Were you aware he was trying to do that?”

“No,” Gates quickly responded. “It’s complicated enough that really that’s where, you know, the — what is it — several hundred pages of testimony gets to it, and, you know, I didn’t know that he was considering blackmailing me.”

Gates added that Epstein “never did blackmail me, but you know it just shows how foolish I was to spend time with him.”

Cooper did not continue with another question and began closing the interview. “Bill, thanks so much for your time,” he said.

Gates gave a slight nod but did not respond verbally. The camera remained on him for several silent seconds before the broadcast returned to Cooper, who appeared to be frowning.

The exchange placed Gates’ history with Epstein at the end of an interview devoted mostly to artificial intelligence. Gates’ responses emphasized his congressional testimony, his denial of a social relationship and his regret over believing Epstein could assist with raising money for global health initiatives.