Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

Beijing, May 22 (Xinhua) Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates (Bill Gates) regrets that he should not get too close to the late American tycoon Geoffrey Epstein. The latest reports show that the relationship between the two is much more complicated than previously known.

Epstein found out that Gates was having an affair with a Russian bridge player and then appeared to use what he knew to threaten Gates, according to people familiar with the matter. Earlier, Gates had been exposed to have an extramarital affair with a female Microsoft employee. In 2021, Gates announced his divorce from his wife Melinda. Melinda is also uneasy about Gates' relationship with Epstein.

The female bridge player Epstein and Gates is named Mila Antonova. Gates met her before 2010, when she was in her 20s. Epstein then met her in 2013 and later paid her to go to software programming school. In 2017, Epstein emailed Gates asking him to reimburse Antonova for her course fees, according to people familiar with the matter.

Antonova discussed playing bridge with Gates before Epstein sent the email, the convicted sex offender had been trying to persuade Gates to participate in the multibillion-dollar charitable fund Epstein was trying to set up with JPMorgan. But it didn't work. The message behind Epstein's email to Gates was that Epstein might expose the affair if Gates didn't keep in touch with each other, according to people who read the message.

A spokesman for Gates responded that the meeting between Gates and Epstein was purely charitable. "Epstein has repeatedly tried to pull Gates out of these problems and use past relationships to threaten Gates, but they have all failed." A spokesman for Gates said.

Antonova declined to comment on Gates. She said she didn't know who he was when she met Epstein. "I don't know he's a criminal and I don't know what ulterior motives he has," she said of Epstein. "I just think he's a successful businessman and wants to help. I am disgusted with Epstein and what he has done."

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