It appears that Bill Gates is finally under the microscope for his connections to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was convicted of trafficking underaged girls to have relations with wealthy men. It was recently revealed that Epstein had found out that Gates was having an affair with a Russian bridge player and then proceeded to use that information to blackmail the Microsoft co-founder, according to Newsmax.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Gates and Epstein met with each other about a dozen times from 2011 onward. The two enjoyed some kind of relationship with one another although Gates assures that it was only for “philanthropy.”
Gates met the Russian bridge player, Mila Antonova, in 2010 when she was in her 20s. She then met Epstein through Gates’ confidant Boris Nikolic. While Antonova did not comment on her relationship with Gates, she said that she did not know who Epstein was or what he did, but just thought that he was a “successful businessman.” She adds that she is “disgusted by what he did.” Nikolic echoed her feelings and said that he regretted meeting Epstein.
Antonova reportedly wanted to start an online business teaching people how to play bridge. She was seeking funding for the project but the most that Epstein gave her was a paid course in programming. Antonova says that she is unsure why he paid for her class.
While Epstein was meeting with Gates and those who worked with him, he was reportedly looking to set up a fund with JPMorgan that would have required investors to put in a minimum of $100 million a person, not including fees to Epstein. The project allegedly relied on Gates’ support but a spokesperson for the billionaire says that the two never worked together. It was when Gates declined to partake in the charitable fund that Epstein tried to use his relationship with Antonova against him. That also failed.