Bill Gates admits to multiple affairs, including with Russian nuclear scientist

WASHINGTON, DC: The veil over Bill Gates' secret romances was lifted during his testimony before Congress earlier this month, when he pulled back the curtain on a series of his extramarital affairs while married to Melinda Gates.

The 70-year-old Microsoft Co-founder, before the House Oversight Committee, admitted to having an affair with Alice Jacobs Nesselrodt, a Harvard-trained medical entrepreneur, and Karima Nigmatulina, a Russian nuclear scientist.

The House Oversight Committee hearing focused on Gates' ties to Jeffrey Epstein, a relationship widely believed to have played a significant role in Melinda’s decision to end their 27-year marriage in 2021.

Since Epstein died in 2019, his association with Gates has remained a source of intense scrutiny, prompting the tech billionaire to repeatedly express regret over their friendship.

During a June 10 appearance before Congress, Gates even said that he wished they had never met.

Bill Gates takes lid off his secret romances

During the testimony, Gates acknowledged having three extramarital affairs, the first of which was with Dr Jacobs.

The software tycoon couldn’t recall when he revealed his affair with Jacobs to Melinda, but said it was before 2013, when he informed her about his relationships with Karima Nigmatulina and Russian bridge player Mila Antonova.

Gates allegedly engaged in an affair with Antonova after they played one another at a tournament in 2009. He was 55 at the time of the alleged affair, while Antonova was in her 20s.

Gates told the committee that when he told Melinda about the two affairs, it was 'very distressing to her' but the decision of divorce didn’t come at that point.

Gates testified that he first met Nigmatulina through her work in disease modeling and nuclear fission. At the time, she was employed by TerraPower, a nuclear energy company in which the Microsoft co-founder said he was a major investor.

He also confirmed that one of their encounters took place in London and was mentioned in millions of Epstein-related emails released by the Department of Justice earlier this year.

The billionaire then opened up about his relationship with Jacobs, which allegedly began in 2010. Alarmingly, the committee members told Gates that Dr Jacobs, who currently runs her own medical consulting company, Convergence Group,  first made contact with Epstein in October 2009.

Dr. Jacobs reportedly grew close enough to Epstein to introduce him to Boris Nikolic, a longtime associate of Gates who later became a key link between the financier and the Microsoft co-founder.

During the hearing, Gates was questioned about an email in which Jacobs referred to Nikolic as her "best friend." He said he believed their relationship was strictly professional and denied knowing that Jacobs had ties to Epstein.

Lawmakers also cited a 2013 draft email that Epstein appeared to have written to himself, in which he discussed Jacobs.

Peter Spectre, the committee's Deputy Director for Oversight, pressed Gates about the email, asking: “Do you have any reason to believe that anyone would think that there is something about Alice Jacobs that you needed to keep between yourself and Dr. Nikolic?”

“Well, there was a time when I had an affair with Dr. Jacobs. So that may fit that category,” Gates replied, adding that Nikolic was a 'consultant' to Dr Jacobs, so he wouldn't be 'completely surprised' if he knew about their affair.

Bill Gates denies being blackmailed by Epstein

During the hearing, Gates denied discussing Epstein with any of the three women, but admitted that he knew about his affairs with the Russians, likely through Nikolic.

The affair with Antonova fueled speculation that Epstein may have attempted to blackmail Gates after emails published by The Wall Street Journal in 2023 suggested the financier sought repayment for expenses he had allegedly covered on her behalf.

The messages reportedly implied that refusing to reimburse those costs could result in Epstein exposing the relationship. Gates testified that after he severed ties with Epstein in 2014, the disgraced financier requested repayment for expenses connected to Antonova.

However, Gates said he instructed one of his senior advisers that they were "never going to pay anything."

“I was not blackmailed, but, you know, as you look at these emails, you know, it looks like Mr Epstein's brainstorming was going in that direction,” Gates implied.