He was working to use information about my infidelities
Diante de um comitê do Congresso, Bill Gates prestou seu depoimento mais direto até hoje sobre sua relação com Jeffrey Epstein, revelando que o financeiro condenado tentou chantageá-lo com informações sobre suas infidelidades para mantê-lo próximo após o afastamento. O encontro, iniciado em 2011 sem a devida diligência sobre o passado criminal de Epstein, tornou-se um ponto de inflexão que abalou a reputação filantrópica de Gates, seu casamento e a confiança depositada em seu trabalho. O depoimento ilumina não apenas uma falha pessoal de julgamento, mas um padrão sistemático pelo qual Epstein transformava segredos alheios em instrumentos de poder.
- Gates admitiu ao Congresso que Epstein coletou informações sobre suas infidelidades e as usou como alavanca para forçar a continuidade do contato após o afastamento.
- A relação, iniciada em 2011 sem pesquisa adequada sobre os crimes de Epstein, durou três anos e girou em torno de um fundo filantrópico que jamais se concretizou.
- As revelações vieram à tona após a prisão de Epstein em 2019, acelerando o declínio do casamento de Gates e colocando em risco décadas de trabalho humanitário.
- A Fundação Gates autorizou uma investigação externa sobre os vínculos com Epstein em 2026, sinalizando que a prestação de contas institucional ainda está em curso.
- O depoimento expõe um padrão documentado por investigadores federais: Epstein sistematicamente acumulava segredos de associados para exercer controle e manter acesso a pessoas influentes.
Na quarta-feira, Bill Gates compareceu a um comitê do Congresso e descreveu como Jeffrey Epstein transformou detalhes íntimos de sua vida pessoal em instrumentos de pressão. O cofundador da Microsoft e filantropo testemunhou que Epstein obteve informações sobre suas infidelidades conjugais e as utilizou como alavanca para mantê-lo próximo, mesmo depois que Gates já havia começado a se afastar.
A relação teve início em 2011, três anos após Epstein ter se declarado culpado na Flórida por aliciar uma menor para prostituição — um acordo de não-persecução penal que, na prática, interrompeu uma investigação mais ampla sobre o abuso sistemático de dezenas de adolescentes. Gates reconheceu que aceitou a apresentação sem a devida diligência. "Eu sabia que Epstein havia enfrentado problemas legais anteriores, mas não compreendia plenamente a extensão dos crimes que havia cometido", declarou.
Ao longo de três anos, os dois se encontraram algumas vezes para discutir a criação de um fundo filantrópico com vantagens fiscais — projeto que nunca saiu do papel. Quando Gates se afastou, por volta de 2014, foi que descobriu o que Epstein havia estado fazendo: compilando informações pessoais sobre ele e se preparando para usá-las como ameaça. "Como o público pode ver pelo que foi divulgado nos arquivos, Epstein trabalhava para usar informações sobre minhas infidelidades", afirmou Gates ao comitê.
As revelações sobre o vínculo entre os dois começaram a emergir após a prisão de Epstein em 2019, acelerando o deterioramento do casamento de Gates e levando sua fundação a autorizar uma investigação externa sobre o relacionamento. Em seu depoimento, Gates enquadrou o episódio como uma falha fundamental de julgamento: "Encontrar-me com Epstein foi um grave erro e colocou em risco o trabalho que dedico a construir um mundo onde todos tenham a chance de viver uma vida saudável e produtiva."
O depoimento representa o acerto de contas público mais direto de Gates com o episódio e reforça um padrão mais amplo documentado por investigadores federais: a coleta sistemática de segredos por Epstein como mecanismo de controle sobre pessoas que, de outra forma, teriam cortado os laços com ele.
Bill Gates sat before a congressional committee on Wednesday and described how Jeffrey Epstein weaponized intimate details of his personal life. The Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist testified that the convicted sex trafficker had obtained information about his extramarital affairs and used it as leverage—a tool to pull Gates back into contact after Gates had already begun distancing himself.
The relationship between Gates and Epstein had begun in 2011, three years after Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to soliciting a minor for prostitution. That plea came through a controversial non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors that effectively halted a broader investigation into allegations that Epstein had systematically abused dozens of teenagers, some as young as fourteen. When Gates was introduced to Epstein that year, he later acknowledged he had not done his homework. "I remember being aware that Epstein had faced prior legal troubles, but I did not fully understand the scope of the crimes he had committed," Gates said in his testimony. "I accepted the introduction without proper due diligence."
Over the next three years, Gates and Epstein met several times, primarily to explore the possibility of establishing a donor-advised fund—a tax-advantaged philanthropic vehicle. Epstein had also pitched the idea to bankers at JPMorgan Chase and expected to be compensated for his role in structuring it. The fund never materialized. By late 2014, the conversations had largely ceased.
It was after Gates had stepped back from the relationship that he discovered what Epstein had been doing. The financier had compiled personal information about Gates—details of his infidelities—and was preparing to use that knowledge as a cudgel. Gates explained to the committee that Epstein operated according to a clear pattern: he gathered intimate facts about the people he dealt with, positioning himself to make them aware that he knew things about them, things they would prefer to keep private. "As the public can now see from what has been disclosed in the files, Epstein was working to use information about my infidelities," Gates stated.
The revelations about Gates's involvement with Epstein had begun surfacing shortly after Epstein's arrest by federal authorities in 2019 on sex trafficking charges. Those disclosures damaged Gates's standing, accelerated the deterioration of his marriage, and prompted his foundation to authorize an external investigation into the relationship this year. In his testimony, Gates framed the encounter as a fundamental failure of judgment. "In my work, reputation is the foundation for building partnerships that save lives. Meeting with Epstein was a serious error in judgment and put that work at risk," he said. "His behavior was antithetical to everything I have tried to do to contribute to a world where everyone has the chance to live a healthy and productive life."
The testimony marks Gates's most direct public accounting of the relationship and the methods Epstein employed to maintain leverage over him. It also underscores a broader pattern that federal investigators and prosecutors have documented: Epstein's systematic collection of personal information on associates, a practice that allowed him to exert control and maintain access to people who might otherwise have severed ties with him.
Citas Notables
Meeting with Epstein was a serious error in judgment and put that work at risk. His behavior was antithetical to everything I have tried to do.— Bill Gates, in congressional testimony
I accepted the introduction without proper due diligence. I did not fully understand the scope of the crimes he had committed.— Bill Gates, acknowledging his lack of research before engaging with Epstein
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
When Gates says he didn't understand the scope of Epstein's crimes, what does that actually mean? He was introduced to a man who had already pleaded guilty.
Gates is saying he knew there had been legal problems, but the full picture—the scale of the abuse, the pattern of it—wasn't clear to him at that moment. That's a distinction, though not necessarily a defense. He's acknowledging he should have looked deeper.
And the blackmail attempt—how does someone even discover that? How does Gates find out Epstein is collecting information about his affairs?
It's not entirely clear from what Gates said, but presumably it came out through investigators, through documents, through the people around Epstein. Once the federal case opened in 2019, all of that material started becoming visible. Gates would have learned about it retroactively.
The donor-advised fund was never created. So what was Epstein actually getting out of these meetings?
Access, mainly. Proximity to Gates. The promise of a lucrative role in structuring a major philanthropic vehicle. And information—which is what he was collecting all along. The fund may have been the stated purpose, but the real work was gathering leverage.
Does Gates's testimony change anything legally, or is this purely about his reputation?
It's primarily about reputation and institutional accountability. The foundation is doing an external investigation. Gates is trying to get ahead of the narrative by being direct about what happened. Legally, Epstein is already convicted. This is Gates explaining his own judgment and trying to restore credibility.
What strikes you most about the pattern Epstein used?
That it was so deliberate. He wasn't just collecting gossip. He was systematically gathering information on people he dealt with so he could make them aware he knew their secrets. It's a control mechanism. It kept people tethered to him even when they wanted to leave.