According to reports, the late Jeffrey Epstein tried to blackmail Microsoft’s founder Bill Gates.
A report in the Wall Street Journal published on Sunday stated that Epstein approached Gates with a proposal to contribute billions of dollars to a charity fund and threatened to reveal Gates’ extramarital relationship with a Russian Bridge player if Gates refused to participate.
Gates was allegedly involved in an affair with Mila Antonova in 2010, after meeting her at a bridge competition. Antonova was only in her early 20s at the time and Gates still was married to Melinda Gates.
In 2013, Antonova and Epstein crossed paths when she sought funding for an online bridge platform. Epstein didn’t invest in Antonova’s project but he sponsored her attendance at a software-coding school. Epstein provided Antonova with an apartment in New York City during her trip there in 2014. However, she never met him.
Epstein tried to pressure Gates into joining a charity by using their affair. The threat was not direct and was disguised by a request to reimburse Antonova’s expenses for a coding school. This was the first mention of the affair from Epstein.
According to documents obtained from the Wall Street Journal by Boris Nikolic – an adviser to Gates -, Antonova was first introduced to Epstein with the intention of raising money for her online venture. Antonova wanted to raise $500,000 for high-quality tutorials aimed at both beginners and experienced players. However, she failed to get the money. Epstein covered her educational costs.
Antonova told the Journal that Epstein had agreed to pay directly for her education, without any exchange. Epstein told Antonova that he wanted to be generous and help others whenever possible.
Gates’ spokesperson confirmed the story. “Mr. Gates and Epstein met for solely philanthropic reasons.” “Epstein failed to convince Gates to move beyond these issues. He tried to use a relationship from the past to threaten Gates.”
Bill and Melinda Gates separated in 2019. Melinda Gates said that Bill’s relationship with Epstein played a role in her decision to divorce.
