Epstein mocked Bill Gates as ‘cheap,’ claimed billionaire's ‘former girl’ was broke, email shows
WASHINGTON, DC: Jeffrey Epstein’s 2017 email accuses Bill Gates of leaving his alleged Russian mistress “broke” and sleeping on a sofa, according to files released by the Department of Justice on January 30.
The email, sent to Gates’ former advisor Boris Nikolic, paints a harsh picture of the Microsoft co-founder.
Gates, 70, whose net worth is estimated at $104 billion, is among several high-profile individuals named in the controversial Epstein files.
Jeffrey Epstein calls Bill Gates 'so cheap' in an email
In an email, sent from Epstein’s personal mail account to Nikolic, he wrote in July 2017 that Gates’ “former bridge girl”—who appears to be Mila Antonova, a bridge player nearly 30 years Gates’ junior—was “broke” and “had little money.”
Epstein claimed she “was living on a friend’s couch,” and “really needed money,” before adding: “I sent her some.”
The email reportedly read: “The richest man in the world is so cheap, his former bridge girl and toy (sic) lives on a friend’s sofa. . WOWO.”
Epstein also called Gates “nuts” and added, “His former girl… can’t afford air con, cant affrod (sic) to travel to bridge. That story would take Trump off the front pages.”
Bill Gates allegedly had affair with Russian bridge player Mila Antonova
The woman referenced in the email is allegedly Russian bridge player Mila Antonova, who was romantically linked to Gates around 2010. She was reportedly in her 20s at the time.
While reports, largely stemming from documents linked to Epstein, allege that Gates had a past relationship with Antonova, Gates has not confirmed this.
The Wall Street Journal says Antonova met Epstein in 2013 through Nikolic, who paid for her software coding course.
By 2017, Epstein allegedly demanded reimbursement from Gates, widely interpreted as an attempt at leverage.
Bill Gates insists meetings with Epstein were for philanthropy
Gates has maintained that his interactions with Epstein were strictly for philanthropy.
His spokesperson told the Daily Beast, “Mr. Gates met with Epstein solely for philanthropic purposes. Epstein tried unsuccessfully to leverage a past relationship to threaten Mr. Gates.”
In a 9 News interview, Gates added, “He knew a lot of very rich people and was saying he could get them to give money to global health. In retrospect, that was a dead end, and I’ve said many times, I was foolish to spend time with him.”
Melinda Gates urges Bill Gates to answer Epstein-related questions
Gates’ ex-wife Melinda recently commented on the files, saying, “I’m so happy to be away from all the muck. Whatever questions remain… those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me.”
Appearing on NPR’s 'Wild Card' podcast in early February, Melinda called the situation “beyond heartbreaking" when asked her ex-husband's name being brought up in association with Epstein.
She spoke about how serious the abuse was for Epstein’s victims and how deeply these revelations affect society.
In addition to that, she also said," I remember being those ages those girls were, I remember my daughters being those ages."
The philanthropist admitted that the recurring headlines serve as a painful reminder of the internal struggles she faced before her divorce.
