Bill Gates STI, 'tryst' charges came during dispute Epstein mediated

Newly released documents show that Jeffrey Epstein attempted to mediate a falling out between Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and the billionaire’s adviser, Boris Nikolic, in 2013.

The dustup prompted Epstein to write an email to himself alleging, among other things, that Gates and his aides were mistreating him despite having a friendship so close that he said he once helped the tech billionaire procure antibiotics to treat a sexually transmitted infection he'd contracted from “Russian girls."

It’s not clear in the messages whether Epstein is writing on his own behalf or drafting something in the voice of Nikolic, a doctor and investor who was a close associate of Epstein's. Emails reviewed by USA TODAY show Epstein acting as a go-between between Nikolic, who was an adviser to Gates, and Larry Cohen, the head of the Microsoft co-founder's organization Gates Ventures.

The emails show that Gates’ relationship with Epstein, by then a convicted sex offender, went beyond philanthropic ventures. They came to light after previous releases from the Epstein estate that included the tech entrepreneur. In previous releases from the Epstein files, Gates appeared in photos with women whose faces were obscured, in a photo with Epstein’s pilot, and in a photo with the former Prince Andrew taken years before he was stripped of his duties and royal title.

Bridgitt Arnold, a spokesperson for Gates, called the information included in the latest emails “absolutely absurd and completely false” made by “a proven, disgruntled liar.” The spokesperson said Bill Gates denied any improper conduct related to Epstein and “horrible activities” that involved Epstein. 

“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,” Gates’ spokesperson said. 

Arnold also repeated a 2019 statement saying Gates "had absolutely no business partnership or personal friendship with Epstein."

Inside Gates' dealings with Epstein and Nikolic

Gates is mentioned in messages from at least 2010 to 2019, according to a USA TODAY review. From about 2011 to 2014, Gates emails Epstein directly, and often one of the pair copies Cohen or Nikolic. In other emails, Gates is simply mentioned for inclusion at a potential meeting and not copied.

Epstein had a relationship with Nikolic going back at least to January 2010. Previously released emails showed the two men discussing a conference in Switzerland, where Nikolic says he met up with some of Epstein’s friends, including President Bill Clinton and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, as King Charles' brother is now known.

"I was just flirting with 22 years old hot blond blue eyes mexican chick," Nikolic writes. "It turns out she is with her husband. Did not have chance to check him out. But as we concluded, anything good is rented;)".

It's not clear how Nikolic became involved in Gates’ finances, but in a February 2011 email, Epstein tells Nikolic that he should have a more formal title in his relationship with Gates. Then he throws out some ideas: president of “Bill Gates investments,” “Bill Gates Interests” or “Bill Gates holdings.”

In June 2013, Nikolic invites Gates to attend Crazy Horse, a famous burlesque cabaret theater in Paris. Gates replies: "I will be too tired to do this and wouldn't want to take the risk. I would have done it when I was younger but I will have to skip it this time!"

Their falling out begins a month later, as shown in an email on July 1, 2013, when Gates writes to Nikolic: “We should meet on Wednesday to discuss your job. There is going to have to be a transition. I feel very bad about it but I don't see a way around it. We can make it something that gives you a smooth positive transition if we work on a plan.”

Nikolic responds on July 2, 2013, with an emotional plea: “I have not been sleeping or eating normally for a while. And I can't stop thinking that I have done nothing wrong, but it seems that I will still have to pay the consequences for the rest of my life. I have been and will continue to be a loyal friend and employee – and would do anything for you.”

On July 11, 2013, Gates emails Epstein to say that Cohen is authorized to speak with Epstein about Nikolic’s employment.

Cohen and Nikolic go back and forth in email to work out a deal, and Epstein says he was involved but not negotiating on Nikolic’s behalf. “So there is no misunderstanding, I am not acting in any capacity other than as a friend to both Boris and Bill.”

Days later, on July 18, 2013, Epstein writes two emails to himself, but referencing himself in one as “Boris.” The context appears to be the employment dispute between Gates and Nikolic, but they include allegations about Gates having extramarital affairs and Nikolic being stuck in the middle of Gates’ marital dispute.

“You have decided to discharge me from my job, had Larry, your pr person tell me that I engaged in morally inappropriate behavior asked me to be the major actor in a cover up so that you can maintain the reputation that you have worked so hard to achieve,” Epstein writes in one of the emails.

Nikolic said in a statement to USA TODAY after publication that he regrets any association with Epstein and his heart goes out to the victims. He added: "Epstein inserted himself as a mediator and then used lies to pursue his own agenda. I realized this as my transition was complete and moved on without his involvement in my work."

Emails allege 'Russian girls,' extramarital affairs, 'morally inappropriate,' and 'ethically unsound'

In the second email dated July 18, 2013, Epstein writes, presumably writing as if he's Nikolic, that he will resign from BG3, a think tank founded by Gates that was later renamed Gates Ventures, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

“During the past few weeks I have been caught up in a severe marital dispute between Melinda and Bill,” Epstein writes. “I have the greatest respect for my friend of 7 years, and wish them both well.

“In my role as his right hand I had been asked on mulitple occassion (sic) and in hindsight , wrongly acquiesced into participating in things that have ranged from the morally inappropriate , to the ethically unsound and had been repeatedly asked to do other things that get near and potentially over the line into the illegal.”

The email alleges those tasks included getting drugs so Gates could deal with the consequences of sex with Russian girls, “facilitating his illicit trysts, with married women” and being asked to provide Adderall for bridge tournaments.

On Aug. 1, 2013, Epstein sends an email to Cohen and Gates, identifying things to address in a potential agreement. Epstein requested "broader authorization" for issues at hand outside of “Boris’s employment.”  

The email then asks if Bill and Melinda French Gates both would be signing and asks whether a one-year severance agreement represented the couple’s position. “If Melinda wants a divorce , how does Boris protect himself,” Epstein adds.

Melinda French Gates, who divorced Gates eight years later, told National Public Radio in a podcast interview published Feb. 3 that revelations about her ex-husband caused her "unbelievable sadness” but said it is his responsibility to answer questions that the Epstein files are raising.

Gates said in an interview with an Australian television network on Feb. 4 that he met Epstein in 2011 and remained in contact for about three years. He said the focus was always Epstein’s connections to wealthy clients who could help with global philanthropy.

“Apparently Jeffrey wrote an email to himself,” Gates said. “That email was never sent. The email was false. So I don’t know what his thinking was there. Was he trying to attack me in some way? But it just reminds me, every minute I spent with him I regret, and I apologize that I did that.”

Nikolic and Gates attempt to patch up relationship

Additional emails suggest that Gates and Nikolic continued to try to resolve the employment dispute. Gates continued to email directly with Epstein through December 2014, and Cohen stayed in touch with Epstein through 2019, months after the Miami Herald published its explosive investigation into Epstein.

On Aug. 10, 2013, Epstein emails Gates to check about the dispute with Nikolic, and he invited Gates to Santa Fe, New Mexico, as well as to a dinner in September in New York. Epstein adds, “of course Melinda can come, if you want.” (Epstein had a property called Zorro Ranch an hour outside of Santa Fe, and properties in New York City, where women have said they were abused.)

"Thanks for your help," Gates replies the same day. "I don't know how to say that strongly enough. I think we are on a good track now."

Gates and Epstein continued to exchange several emails through August 2013 regarding Nikolic’s agreement that seemed to suggest the mediation didn’t work between the Microsoft co-founder and Nikolic.

“If Boris decides he has changed his mind about what was agreed when you visited our offices that is too bad,” Gates writes to Epstein on Aug. 27, 2013. “When someone asks for more there is no end to it as you and I discussed. Boris can make whatever he wants public at that point and I will explain to the right people what was done to me and by whom.”

Cohen, whose LinkedIn profile still lists him as CEO of Gates Ventures, kept emailing with Epstein for years after the dispute. Arnold, the spokesperson for Gates, said "Any ongoing communication from Epstein to Cohen after the separation with Nikolic was unsolicited and not reciprocated."

"Larry Cohen was asked to negotiate and manage the separation agreement with Nikolic and clearly frustrated Epstein in his efforts to insert himself more broadly and directly," she said. "Epstein's animosity toward Cohen is clear from the documents, as he viewed Cohen as an impediment to Epstein's access to Gates."

In January 2018, Epstein reached out to Cohen to schedule a meeting between Gates and Terje Rød-Larsen, then the president of the International Peace Institute, in Davos, Switzerland.

Cohen responded that he was working to see if there was time for them to meet, though it’s unclear if the two met at that time. (Rød-Larsen resigned from the institute in 2020 due to his ties to Epstein.)

On Jan. 10, 2019, Cohen and Epstein exchanged emails to schedule a time for a conversation.

Six months later, on July 8, 2019, federal prosecutors charged Epstein with sex trafficking. He was found dead in his jail cell a month later.