The files also included a 2013 email written by Epstein that alleged Gates had affairs with Russian women and had contracted an STD as a result. Gates rejected the claims, calling them “false.”
However, on 25 February he acknowledged having had affairs and apologized “to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made,” while stressing that none involved Epstein’s victims.
Gates also said the photographs with unidentified women were taken because Epstein asked him to pose for them.
Stephen Hawking
The late physicist also appeared in the files. One photograph shows him sitting between two women in bikinis whose identities were redacted by the Department of Justice. His name reportedly appeared in the documents more than 250 times, though he has not been accused of any criminal behavior.
On 25 February, Hawking’s family clarified that the photo was taken in 2006 while he was staying at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in St Thomas. At the time, he was attending a scientific conference titled Energy of Empty Space That Isn’t Zero, funded by Epstein.
According to his family, the women in the photo were his “long term carers.”