Anderson Cooper Questions Bill Gates on Meetings With Jeffrey Epstein, Workplace Culture: ‘Do You Have Regrets?’

Anderson Cooper interviewed Bill Gates on Wednesday night for a discussion that was mostly about the Gates Foundation and its efforts to help end the pandemic. However, the CNN host didn’t exactly ease into the interview. Though Gates seemed prepared for the uncomfortable questions, that didn’t make the beginning of the interview any smoother.

“Since we last spoke there’s been more reporting about certain topics,” noted Cooper. “I wanted to ask you a couple of questions about that. I know you feel some things have been misreported.”

Cooper asked about Gates’s divorce from his wife Melinda, which was finalized on Monday. “On a personal level, how are you doing?”

The Microsoft founder called it “a sad milestone” and called her a “great person and that partnership that we had coming to an end is a source of great personal sadness.”

He noted that he and Melinda will attempt to continue working together through the Gates Foundation.

“There’s a couple of things, reporting that’ve been out there I want to ask you about,” said Cooper. “I think it’s no one’s business what happens in a person’s marriage. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal both reported in recent months that Melinda was concerned about a relationship you had with Jeffrey Epstein, who at the time – you met him in 2011 – had been already convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor. The Times reported [Melinda] hired divorce attorneys around the time in October 2019 when that contact with Epstein became public. Can you explain your relationship with Epstein? Did you have any concerns? Was there ever any concerns you had about it?”

“Certainly,” said Gates.

“You know, I had several dinners with him, you know, hoping that what he said about getting billions of philanthropy for global health through contacts that he had might emerge. And when it looked like that wasn’t a real thing, that relationship ended. But it was a huge mistake to spend time with him, to give him the credibility of, you know, being — there were lots of others in that same situation, but I made a mistake.”

Cooper switched gears and pointed to a New York Times report from May in which some sources said that Gates had “engaged in work-related behavior that they said was inappropriate for a person at the helm of a major publicly traded company and one of the world’s most influential philanthropies.” Cooper asked Gates about the six women the Times talked to who said Gates’ behavior sometimes created an “uncomfortable” workplace.

Cooper also pointed to the fact that a spokesman for Gates acknowledged he had an affair 20 years ago with a Microsoft employee. “Do you have regrets?”

“Well, certainly,” said Gates. “I think everyone does. But, you know, I’m – it’s a time of reflection. You know, I – you know, at this point I need to go forward. You know, my work is very important to me, you know. Within the family we’ll heal as best as we can and learn from what’s happened.”

Cooper responded, “Just on a personal level, I’m sorry for what you and your family are going through.”

Watch above via CNN.