Khaberni - A spokesperson for the Gates Foundation stated that Bill Gates decided to take "responsibility for his actions" regarding his relationship with convicted sex offender businessman Jeffrey Epstein during a public meeting with the foundation's employees.
The spokesperson's comments were in response to a report by the "Wall Street Journal" which noted that Gates apologized to the employees during the public meeting for his association with Epstein.
Documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice indicated that Gates and Epstein met several times after Epstein's release from prison to discuss expanding the philanthropic efforts of the Microsoft founder.
According to the newspaper report, Gates acknowledged to the employees that it was a grave mistake to spend time with Epstein and to bring foundation officials to meetings with him.
The report was based on a recording of Gates's remarks at the public meeting. According to the newspaper, he said, "I apologize to the other people who got involved in this because of the mistake I made."
The newspaper also reported that Gates admitted he had romantic relationships with two Russian women whom he met through Epstein later, but they were not among his victims.
The Department of Justice documents also included photos of the Microsoft founder standing with women whose faces were obscured. Gates had previously stated that his relationship with Epstein was limited to discussions related to charity, and that it was a mistake to meet him.
The newspaper mentioned that Gates told foundation employees that it was Epstein who requested him to take these photos with the assistants of the convicted sex offender after their meetings.
Gates added, according to the report, "To be clear, I did not spend any time with the victims, the women around him."
It is worth noting that the Gates Foundation, chaired by Bill and founded with his former wife in 2000, is one of the largest funders of global health initiatives worldwide.
