Bill Gates, caught in the Epstein files issue, is now apologizing. Gates, who had earlier pulled out of the India AI Impact Summit after protests, has now issued a public apology to Gates Foundation employees as the controversy over his past relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein resurfaced following newly released documents related to Epstein. According to a statement shared with Reuters by a foundation spokesperson, Gates “took responsibility for his actions” during a recent town hall meeting, where he addressed questions about his relationship with Epstein.

At the town hall, Gates also reportedly admitted that he had two affairs with Russian women, as noted in the Epstein files, but clarified that those relationships were not connected to Epstein’s victims. The Microsoft co-founder’s comments came under renewed scrutiny after details of his past conversations with Epstein resurfaced in media reports.

Gates came under criticism following the publication of US Justice Department records and images detailing several meetings between Gates and Epstein. The documents included photos of the Microsoft co-founder posing with women, whose faces were removed.

During the internal meeting, Gates reportedly told staff that spending time with Epstein and including senior foundation officials in meetings with him was “a big mistake.” He apologized to those affected within the organization, saying, “I apologize to the other people who got involved because of my mistake.”

Gates also sought to distance himself from any illegal conduct involving Epstein. He told employees, “I didn’t do anything illegal. I didn’t see anything illegal.” Addressing speculation about the nature of his attendance at Epstein-related meetings, he further clarified that he “never spent any time with the victims, the women around him”.

He reiterated that the two cases that Epstein later learned about were not related to Epstein’s criminal activities and did not involve any victims.

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Notably, earlier this month, the foundation said it had never made any financial payments to Epstein and had never employed him.

Earlier, Gates had canceled his attendance at the India AI Impact Summit 2026. He was scheduled to speak at the high-profile event alongside Google CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and other industry leaders as a leading global voice on technology and philanthropy.

However, hours before his expected address, the Gates Foundation announced that he would no longer be attending. In a statement, the foundation said the decision was taken to ensure that the focus remains on the main agenda of the summit rather than the controversy surrounding it. “After careful consideration, and to ensure that the focus remains on the key priorities of the AI ​​Summit, Mr. Gates will not deliver his keynote address,” the statement said.