In a scandalous disclosure involving Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and the infamous Jeffrey Epstein, a report by Wall Street Journal claimed that the billionaire had an affair with a Russian woman in 2010. The tech billionaire was married to Melinda Gates from 1994 to 2021.
In 2010, Gates reportedly had an affair with Russian bridge player, Mila Antonova, who was in her twenties at the time. Their ways crossed through their shared interest in the card game bridge, and they connected during a national tournament, the report suggests. A 2010 YouTube video was also unearthed in which Antonova mentioned meeting Gates at a national bridge tournament.
Antonova later met Epstein in 2013 while pursuing funding for her business venture, BridgePlanet. She claimed that she was unaware of Epstein’s criminal history and believed he was a successful businessman willing to support her.
Epstein, known for his relations and trying to establish a large charitable fund with JPMorgan, repeatedly approached Gates to join his philanthropic efforts. However, Gates declined. This led to strained relations between the two. Epstein resorted to using his knowledge of Gates’ affair to send a threatening email in 2017, demanding reimbursement for Antonova’s coding camp tuition. It is unclear whether Gates and Epstein had any further contact after this incident.
Epstein’s connections with JPMorgan are under scrutiny due to an ongoing lawsuit. The report claims he misrepresented his relationship with Gates to JPMorgan executives, attempting to position it as a close personal bond. However, the bank expressed regret for its association with Epstein and clarified that they didn’t require his introductions.
Tragically, Epstein met his end in a New York jail in 2019. His death was ruled a suicide, leaving behind a legacy of alleged abuse and trafficking, for which his associate Ghislaine Maxwell received a 20-year prison sentence in 2022.
Mila Antonova, now a software engineer, expressed her disgust with Epstein’s actions and emphasized that she did not know about his crimes when pitching her business to him. The report states cites Gates’ spokesperson claiming that he met with Epstein solely for philanthropic purposes and regretted their association.
