Bill Gates, long regarded as one of the world’s most influential global health philanthropists, is again facing renewed public scrutiny over his past interactions with Jeffrey Epstein after the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Friday released two newly discovered photographs showing the Microsoft co-founder in Epstein’s orbit. The images, part of what Democrats say is a trove of more than 95,000 photos sourced from Epstein’s computer and email accounts, were included in the committee’s ongoing investigation into the financier’s network of political and social connections.
Epstein does not appear in either of the photos featuring Gates. But committee members said the images add to a broader portrait of the powerful circles Epstein maintained over decades, even after pleading guilty to sex crimes in 2008. In the first image, Gates stands beside Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — formerly Prince Andrew — who has faced international backlash over his association with Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor was accused in a 2019 civil lawsuit of sexually assaulting Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s prominent accusers, allegations he has consistently denied. He has not been charged in the United States or the United Kingdom, but his ties to Epstein led to his withdrawal from public duties.
A second photo shows a younger Gates standing beside a man who appears to be Larry Visoski, Epstein’s longtime private pilot. Visoski testified in Maxwell’s 2021 federal sex trafficking trial that he flew Epstein, Maxwell, and numerous high-profile passengers over the years. At the time, flight records documenting Epstein’s extensive travel patterns were already public and remain a focal point of ongoing inquiries.
Representatives for both Gates and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation declined to comment on the newly released images. Gates has previously said he met Epstein several times more than a decade ago because Epstein had represented himself as a potential philanthropic intermediary promising access to wealthy donors interested in global health initiatives. In a 2021 interview with PBS NewsHour, Gates acknowledged, “Those meetings were a mistake,” adding that he ended the relationship once he realized the promised funding would not materialize.
Melinda French Gates has also spoken publicly about her discomfort with her then-husband’s interactions with Epstein. She told CBS in 2022 that she met Epstein only once, recalling, “I regretted it from the second I stepped in the door. He was abhorrent; he was evil personified. I had nightmares about it afterwards.” She later suggested that her concerns about Epstein were among several factors contributing to the couple’s divorce.
Gates has consistently denied that Epstein played any role in compromising or influencing him. When asked during a January 2023 interview with ABC Australia whether French Gates had warned him about Epstein because “Epstein had a way of sexually compromising people,” Gates responded sharply: “No! I had dinner with him, and that’s all.”
Friday’s release of the images occurred just as interest in Epstein’s associations has intensified on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers last month passed bipartisan legislation requiring the Department of Justice to release its Epstein investigative files by Dec. 19, a deadline now nearing without any public disclosure from the DOJ. The Oversight Committee’s separate review of the Epstein estate’s records — which include documents, photographs, emails, and digital archives — is expected to continue in phases.
Democrats on the committee have argued that the images underscore the urgency of transparency. The photos were part of what Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., called a necessary step toward public accountability for Epstein’s “powerful friends.” Republicans, meanwhile, have accused Democrats of cherry-picking images for political effect.
A POLITICO interview published Friday noted that Gates spoke with the outlet before the latest images emerged. Still, the resurfacing of Epstein-related material highlights how the financier’s shadow continues to reach well beyond his death, complicating the legacies and public reputations of those who ever moved within his orbit.
