Bill Gates Was Warned By Epstein Ally To Stay Away, Reported Email Says

BreakingBusinessBill Gates Was Warned By Epstein Ally To Stay Away, Reported Email SaysByAlison Durkee,Forbes Staff. Alison is a senior news reporter covering US politics and legal news.Follow AuthorJun 08, 2026, 02:11pm EDTJun 08, 2026, 02:11pm EDTToplineBillionaire Bill Gates was warned in 2014 to maintain a “healthy distance” from Jeffrey Epstein—by an associate who appeared to stay friendly with Epstein until his death—according to an email reported Sunday by The Wall Street Journal, raising new questions about Gates’ relationship with Epstein as the Microsoft cofounder prepares to speak with Congress.Bill Gates attends the 12th Annual Breakthrough Prize Awards and Ceremony in Los Angeles, California, on April 18.Anadolu via Getty ImagesKey FactsMelanie Walker, a medical expert who previously worked for Gates while being friends with Epstein, wrote in an August 2014 to Gates he should maintain “a healthy distance for anything of a personal nature” when it came to Epstein, the Journal reported Sunday evening.Walker warned of consequences she had seen “happen to too many powerful people over the years” because of Epstein, and said the late financier tried to appeal to people’s “weaknesses or proclivities.”Gates has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein but had a yearslong professional relationship with the financier, meeting with him multiple times starting in 2011 about starting a potential charitable fund before largely cutting ties with Epstein in late 2014—shortly after Walker’s reported email.A spokesperson for Gates did not respond to a request for comment about the email or whether it influenced Gates distancing himself from Epstein, with other emails in the Epstein files suggesting Gates told the financier in late 2014 their plan for a charitable fund would not “come together … anytime soon.”Documents in the Epstein files suggest Walker had a longrunning friendship with Epstein, including frequent discussion about her work with Gates,...