Topline<\/p>\n
The Gates Foundation did not have any knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s alleged crimes or participate in them, an external independent investigation funded by the foundation found, after Bill Gates\u2019 relationship with the late financier intensified scrutiny on the foundation and its work.<\/p>\n
Bill Gates (C) arrives for a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on June 10.<\/p>\n
AFP via Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n
The Gates Foundation announced Tuesday an independent investigation into the foundation\u2019s ties to Epstein it funded by law firm WilmerHale did not uncover any links between the nonprofit and Epstein\u2019s alleged crimes.<\/p>\n
Foundation chief Bill Gates<\/a> had a professional relationship with Epstein that involved discussing a potential donor-advised fund that could benefit the Gates Foundation, though Gates has denied any knowledge of Epstein\u2019s alleged sex trafficking and any wrongdoing in connection with the financier.<\/p>\n WilmerHale concluded<\/a> it found \u201cno evidence\u201d of any \u201cparticipation in or knowledge of Epstein\u2019s ongoing sex trafficking operations or criminal activities\u201d by the Gates Foundation, or that \u201cthe foundation was contemporaneously aware of Epstein\u2019s use of the foundation\u2019s name to help advance his conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n Investigators noted Gates did engage with Epstein despite knowing of the financier\u2019s previous 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution, and found Gates Foundation employees \u201craised on multiple occasions the risks of associating with Epstein because of his prior conviction.\u201d<\/p>\n The investigation found foundation employees had met with Epstein approximately 30 times between 2011 and 2014, but those meetings were all focused on philanthropy, and investigators did not find any evidence Epstein was ever paid by the foundation.<\/p>\n New revelations about Gates\u2019 ties to Epstein<\/a> in the government\u2019s Epstein files earlier this year led the Gates Foundation to announce<\/a> the investigation in April, as it expressed regret for interactions between Epstein and foundation employees. <\/p>\n What Did The Investigation Find?<\/p>\n WilmerHale found the employees at the Gates Foundation were first introduced to Epstein in 2011. His dealings with the nonprofit were largely focused on the donor-advised fund, or DAF, that Gates was working on developing with Epstein, which would \u201cpool contributions from high-net-worth individuals\u201d and direct them toward global public health. Foundation employees discussed the DAF at several meetings, but plans for the fund ultimately fell apart in 2014, after Gates and foundation employees met with potential donors. Those donors \u201cdid not appear informed about the DAF,\u201d WilmerHale noted, \u201cand it became clear to Mr. Gates and foundation staff that Epstein had misrepresented the potential donors\u2019 knowledge of and willingness to commit to the DAF.\u201d Epstein also introduced Gates to the president of the nonprofit International Peace Institute, or IPI, in 2013, and the Gates Foundation later provided grants to the nonprofit. The investigation found the Gates Foundation \u201cconducted diligence\u201d on IPI before giving it money. After reporting in 2020 uncovered deeper ties between Epstein and the nonprofit\u2019s president than were previously known, investigators note the Gates Foundation continued to fund the IPI because it was satisfied with the steps the nonprofit took in response, such as the president resigning and the nonprofit conducting an independent probe into its Epstein ties.<\/p>\n Melanie Walker And Boris Nikolic<\/p>\n The summary of WilmerHale\u2019s findings also mentioned that Epstein had communications with two Gates Foundation employees, who investigators say forwarded Epstein sensitive information about Gates and the foundation \u201cwithout notifying Mr. Gates or foundation staff, which violated foundation policy.\u201d Communications in the Epstein files suggest those employees are likely Melanie Walker<\/a> and Boris Nikolic, who were science advisers to Gates. Walker frequently communicated with Epstein about Gates even after the billionaire cut ties with Epstein in 2014, documents suggest, while Epstein helped negotiate Nikolic\u2019s departure from the Gates Foundation. The Epstein files also include emails Epstein sent to himself that appear to be drafts of messages Nikolic could send to Gates, which allege Gates used drugs, participated in \u201cillicit trysts\u201d and contracted a sexually transmitted disease, also alleging he then \u201csurreptitiously\u201d gave antibiotics for the disease to then-wife Melinda French Gates. (Gates\u2019 office has decried these allegations as \u201cabsolutely absurd and completely false.\u201d)<\/p>\n What Will The Gates Foundation Do From Here?<\/p>\n The Gates Foundation announced a number of steps Tuesday that it plans to take to avoid working with people in the future who could be similarly compromising to the foundation\u2019s work. The foundation will create a \u201ccentralized vetting process\u201d for people it works with, strengthen processes around conflicts of interest and handling sensitive foundation records, and create new guardrails around employees who work for both the Gates Foundation and other Gates-owned entities, like his family office. It will also create a process for escalating potential risks regarding projects introduced by Gates and other senior leadership, after Gates had the foundation work with Epstein despite staff concerns about the 2008 conviction. <\/p>\n What We Don\u2019t Know<\/p>\n The Gates Foundation only released a short executive summary of the investigation\u2019s findings on Tuesday, so the full findings of the investigation are still under wraps.<\/p>\n News Peg<\/p>\n The results of the Gates Foundation investigation come shortly after billionaire Warren Buffett declined<\/a> to make an annual donation to Gates\u2019 nonprofit for the first time in decades, following reports<\/a> that the donation was being delayed as Buffett scrutinized Gates and the foundation\u2019s ties to Epstein. Buffett told CNBC he found Gates\u2019 ties to Epstein \u201cdistasteful\u201d but said he \u201cfound nothing\u201d when examining Gates\u2019 relationship with Epstein \u201cthat was beyond what I could picture myself doing,\u201d though he still ultimately did not give money to Gates\u2019 nonprofit. Buffett instead directed his annual giving to foundations run by his children, saying he wanted to give his kids stewardship over his fortune. <\/p>\n Forbes Valuation<\/p>\n