Washington [US], May 22: Boss Jeffrey Epstein, a notorious human trafficker and pedophile before committing suicide in prison in August 2019, once threatened to expose billionaire Gates' illicit relationship with his young mistress.
The Wall Street Journal reported on May 21 that Epstein discovered Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates had an affair with a Russian bridge athlete. So Epstein blackmailed Gates if he wanted Epstein to be quiet.
Mr. Gates met Mila Antonova in 2010, when the US tech billionaire was 55 years old and the girl was in her 20s. Three years later, Epstein met Antonova and paid her to attend a software programming school. In 2017, Epstein sent a letter asking Gates to refund Antonova's school fees, The Wall Street Journal reported , citing people familiar with the incident.
At the time of the email asking for the money, Epstein had been unsuccessful in convincing Gates to invest in a multi-billion dollar charitable foundation with the JPMorgan Chase Bank that Epstein intended to set up. Each individual participating must pay 100 million USD.
According to the US newspaper, "the implication behind the email asking for money was that Epstein threatened to reveal the affair if Mr. Gates did not maintain contact between the two."
A representative of Gates confirmed this, saying, "Epstein tried to use a past relationship to threaten Mr. Gates, but failed." The acquaintance also said he did not return Antonova's school fees to Epstein.
The acquaintance between Gates and Epstein eventually led to the divorce of billionaire Gates and his wife Melinda after 27 years of marriage. A year after the divorce, Melinda told CBS News in 2022 that the relationship between her former husband and Epstein was one of many reasons why their marriage ended.
Epstein and Gates first met in 2011, after Epstein was found guilty of soliciting a minor for prostitution. According to The New York Times in 2019, the two met several times, and Gates told colleagues that he found Epstein's lifestyle "very different and seemed appealing, though not to me."
Now, billionaire Gates calls this acquaintance "a mistake", and should have listened to his ex-wife soon cut ties with the pedophile and human trafficker.
Mr. Gates has not commented on the newly disclosed information.
Source: ThanhNien Newspaper