Bill Gates has mysteriously pulled out of India's AI Impact Summit hours before his scheduled keynote address on Thursday - as the tech billionaire faces backlash over his links to Jeffrey Epstein. The Gates Foundation said the Microsoft founder will not deliver his address at the artificial intelligence forum today to 'ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit's key priorities.' Only days ago, the foundation had dismissed rumours of his absence and insisted he was on track to attend. Gates' cancellation comes after the US Department of Justice released emails last month that included communication between late financier and convicted sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein and the Gates Foundation's staff. Gates - who is one of the world's richest men - has said the relationship was confined to philanthropy-related discussions and that it was a mistake for him to meet Epstein.
The 2013 Epstein-Gates email leak
An email Epstein drafted for one of Gates' advisors in 2013 appears to allege Gates contracted an STD and asked that person to procure antibiotics so he could secretly give them to his then-wife, Melinda. 'TO add insult to injury you them implore me to please delete the emails mails regarding your std, your request that I provide you antibiotics that you can surreptitiously give to Melinda and the description of your [expletive],' the email with typos reads. Another section read that the person was 'dismayed beyond comprehension' by Gates's decision to 'disregard our friendship developed over the last six years.'
Gates was forced to apologise following the release of the documents in an interview with Australian broadcaster Nine News earlier this month. 'The focus was always, he knew a lot of very rich people, and he was saying he could get them to give money to global health,' Gates said. The billionaire continued: 'You know, in retrospect, that was a dead end, and I was foolish to spend time with him. I am one of many people who regret ever knowing him.'
'Apparently, Jeffrey wrote an email to himself. That email was never sent. The email is, you know, false.' 'I don't know what his thinking was there. Every minute that I spent with him, I regret, and I apologise that I did that. 'I was only at dinners... I never went to the island, I never met any women, and so, you know, the more that comes out, the more clear it'll be, that although the time was a mistake, it had nothing to do with that kind of behaviour.'
Melinda, who divorced Bill in 2021, said earlier this month that those mentioned in the documents, including her ex, should publicly address the allegations. In an episode of NPR's Wild Card podcast, Melinda, 61, said she felt sorry for the victims of Epstein. 'I think we're having a reckoning as a society, right? No girl, no girl should ever be put in the situation that they were put in by Epstein and whatever was going on with all of the various people around him,' she said, shaking her head.'
Melinda's reckoning and the 'defamation' defense
She added: 'It's beyond heartbreaking. I remember being those ages those girls were; I remember my daughters being those ages.' 'So, for me, it's personally hard whenever those details come up.' Melinda and Bill were married from 1994 to 2021, and she has cited his friendship with Epstein as one of the reasons for the divorce but has not divulged further details. Melinda reportedly hired lawyers to plan the split in 2019 after reports emerged about his repeated meetings with Epstein contradicting the Microsoft founder's earlier public denials.
She retained counsel after becoming concerned about her husband's alleged business dealings with the disgraced financier, The Wall Street Journal reported. A spokesman for Gates previously told the Daily Mail: 'These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false.' '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.'