'Completely absurd': Bill Gates denies STD claims in newly released Jeffrey Epstein files

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has strongly denied claims stemming from the Jeffrey Epstein files that he contracted a sexually transmitted Disease (STD), calling the allegations completely false.

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) released a massive tranche of 3 million pages of previously sealed documents related to Epstein, a late convicted sex offender. The documents report that

Gates contracted an STD from what were described as ‘Russian girls,’ and he planned to hide it from his then-wife, Melinda French Gates.

Describing the allegations as "absurd and completely false," Gates

' spokesperson explained that the documents actually showed how Epstein was upset because he couldn't have any kind of ongoing relationship with Gates, and that he would go to great lengths to destroy his image.

"The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein's frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame," the spokesperson said.

Epstein seems to have written a draft statement pretending to speak for Boris Nikolic, who is Bill Gates' longtime science adviser. In this draft, Epstein allegedly claimed that Gates was involved in certain activities, including supposedly asking for drugs to deal with the effects of having sex with "Russian girls."

The email, dated July 18, 2013, shows Epstein claiming that Gates asked him for antibiotics for an STD. In the email, Epstein wrote that Gates asked him to delete emails about the STD, requested medicine he could secretly give to Melinda, and even included a description of his private parts.

The email read, "To add insult to the injury, you then subsequently, with tears in your eyes, implore me to please delete the emails regarding your std, your request that I provide you antibiotics that you can surreptitiously give to Melinda, and the description of your penis."

"From helping Bill to get drugs, in order to deal with the consequences of sex with Russian girls, to facilitating his illicit trysts, with married women, to being asked to provide Adderall for bridge tournaments, as I am a medical doctor, but have no prescriptions writing ability," the email further read.

According to The NY Times, Epstein was furious at Gates because he felt the latter ended their friendship to protect his own reputation. Epstein wrote in an email that Gates had chosen to "disregard and discard" their six-year friendship. Reports also state that their connection was one of the reasons for his divorce from Melinda.

In 2025, Gates told The Wall Street Journal that being friends with Epstein was a ‘huge mistake,’  adding that he only had dinners with Epstein because he hoped he would donate to the Gates Foundation.

"So yes, I think I was quite stupid. I thought it would help me with global health philanthropy. In fact, it failed to do that it was just a huge mistake," he said.

Epstein was found dead in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting trials.