Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates stepped back from delivering a keynote address at an artificial intelligence summit in India on Thursday, as renewed scrutiny over his past relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues to raise questions.
Gates had been scheduled to speak at the AI Summit in India on behalf of the Gates Foundation, the nonprofit organization he co-founded with his now ex-wife, Melinda Gates, according to The New York Times. However, the foundation announced that he would no longer be appearing.
“After careful consideration, and to ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit’s key priorities, Mr. Gates will not be delivering his keynote address,” the Gates Foundation said in a statement Thursday. “The Gates Foundation will be represented by Ankur Vora, President of Africa and India Offices, who will speak later today at the Summit.”
The foundation emphasized that it “remains fully committed to our work in India to advance our shared health and development goals,” signaling that while Gates would not attend, the organization’s broader mission in the country would continue uninterrupted.
The development comes as Gates once again faces scrutiny over his ties to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 of sex crimes involving a minor and later died by suicide in a New York correctional facility in 2019. Gates’ association with Epstein became public after Epstein’s death, revealing that their relationship extended for years following Epstein’s conviction.
While Gates has previously described his interactions with Epstein as a “mistake,” the full scope of their relationship remains unclear.
Fresh attention was drawn to the matter following the release last month of another tranche of Epstein-related documents. Among the hundreds of thousands of pages made public were emails Epstein wrote to himself. In those messages, Epstein claimed he had assisted Gates in obtaining medication “in order to deal with consequences of sex with Russian girls.”
Gates has flatly rejected the allegation.
“These claims — from a proven, disgruntled liar — are absolutely absurd and completely false,” a representative for Gates said. “The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame.”
The renewed controversy also comes years after Gates and Melinda Gates finalized their divorce in 2021. Their split was attributed in part to Gates’ past relationship with Epstein.
When asked about Epstein’s message suggesting Gates had been involved in extramarital relationships, Melinda Gates did not directly deny the allegations. Speaking earlier this month on an NPR podcast, she acknowledged the personal toll the situation had taken.
“For me, it’s personally hard whenever those details come up, right? Because it brings back memories of some very, very painful times in my marriage,” she said.
She added that lingering questions surrounding her former husband’s relationship with Epstein are not hers to answer.
“Whatever questions remain there of what — I can’t even begin to know all of it — those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband,” she said. “They need to answer to those things, not me.”
As Gates withdraws from the high-profile AI event, the renewed focus on his past ties to Epstein underscores how lingering controversies can continue to shadow even the world’s most prominent figures.
