Mila Antonova discussed playing bridge with Bill Gates in an online video. Photo: Screengrab
Jeffrey Epstein threatened to expose Bill Gates in connection with an alleged affair with a 20-year-old Russian bridge player, according to US reports.
Convicted pedophile Epstein, who committed suicide in prison in 2019, wanted Gates to support the charity he had created.
Gates, 67, refused to do so, and Epstein threatened to expose the case if he didn't cooperate, according to the Wall Street Journal.
goals,” a spokeswoman for the Microsoft co-founder said.
“After repeatedly failing to get Mr. Gates out of these matters, Epstein unsuccessfully attempted to use past relationships to threaten Mr. Well, Gates.”
She added: «Mr. Gates had no financial relationship with Epstein.» Gates met Antonova at a bridge tournament. a player who learned the game from his parents and met Mila Antonova, who founded a bridge club in the Bay Area, at a tournament in 2010.
She described their meeting in a video. “I didn’t hit him, but I tried to kick him,” she recalls.
Then Antonova proposed a venture in which she would conduct online lessons in bridge.
Epstein was considered a potential investor and was introduced to him by Boris Nikolic, a Gates confidant and lead scientific advisor.
Epstein ultimately declined to invest in the BridgePlanet project after they met at Epstein's townhouse. in November 2013.
Instead, she became a programmer, and Epstein took care of the cost of her education.
“Epstein agreed to pay, and he paid directly to the school. Nothing was exchanged. I don't know why he did it.» she told the magazine.
«When I asked, he said something like he's rich and wants to help people whenever he can.»
Jeffrey Epstein (center) in 2011, left to right: Jess Staley; former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers; Bill Gates; and Boris Nikolic. Photo: The New York Times
She declined to comment on Mr. Gates and added that she did not know who Epstein was when they met.
“I had no idea he was a criminal. or had some ulterior motive. I just thought he was a successful businessman and wanted to help.
“I am disgusted with Epstein and what he did.”
After meeting Ms. Antonova, Mr. Nikolic also discussed with Epstein his plans to create a billion-dollar charitable foundation with JPMorgan.
According to court documents seen by the Wall Street Journal, Epstein considered the fund, which required individuals to donate at least $100 million, as a way to restore his reputation. important to the success of the enterprise.
In his misspelled messages to potential patrons, Epstein talked extensively about the potential involvement of Mr. Gates.
“Essentially, this [fund] will allow Bill access to better people, investments, disbursement, management, without disturbing either his marriage or the sensitivities of current fund employees,” Epstein wrote on August 16, 2011, to two top JPMorgan executives. Jess Staley and Mary Erdoes.
It was only in 2017 that Epstein threatened in a letter to Mr. Gates asking him to refund the cost of Ms. Antonova's course.
Epstein hinted that he was ready to expose the case
In a letter, he made it clear that he knew about this case and was ready to expose it.
Associates said that the amount of money required was insignificant, but a thinly veiled threat mattered.
Mr. Gates, whose net worth exceeds $100 billion, met Epstein more than half a dozen times.
He was one of a number of prominent personalities that Epstein sought to cultivate as he tried to rebuild his reputation after his initial conviction for crimes sexually motivated in 2008.
Mr. Gates, who was also a passenger on Epstein's private jet, has since said his calls and meetings with the disgraced financier were a mistake.
Mr. Nikolic also expressed his sadness at ever meeting Epstein.
“I deeply regret ever meeting Epstein,” he said. “His crimes were heinous. I have never seen anything like his illegal behavior. My heart goes out to his victims and their families.»
He added: «I should never have messed with him, and now I'm grateful he never invested in my endeavors.»
The proposed philanthropic fund did not come to fruition.
«The firm did not need him as a client,» a JPMorgan spokesman said of Epstein. “The firm didn't need him for introductions. Knowing what we know today, we regret that we never did business with him.”
Epstein was first accused of sexually abusing girls at the age of 14 in 2006. In 2008, he pleaded guilty to soliciting and pandering for prostitution.
He was arrested again on charges of sex trafficking in 2019 and was found hanged in his prison cell while awaiting trial.< /p>
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