It has been more than six years since disgraced American financier Jeffrey Epstein died in a prison cell, allegedly by suicide. But new revelations are coming every day that reveal his vast network and circle and shed light on his work.
According to a Fortune report, Epstein financially supported the ex-girlfriend of Microsoft founder Bill Gates for years. The development comes after the US Department of Justice (DOJ) released over three million pages in what it called the latest tranche of the Epstein files.
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Epstein financed Gates’ ex-girlfriend
In an April 30, 2018 email Epstein sent to Bill Gates’ chief of staff Larry Cohen, the convicted sex offender wrote that he had just put Mila Antonova up for a week at one of his Upper East Side apartments. Antonova, a Russian bridge player, told Fortune through her attorney that she had a “relationship” with Gates around 2010. She has also been described elsewhere as his lover. Over the years, Epstein had provided her with financial support and wanted Gates to know about it.
According to the report, Epstein had long wanted Gates to know about it. Justice Department documents released in January show that between 2013 and 2018, the convicted sex offender helped Antonova arrange a visa, sent her money, repeatedly housed her in several of his Manhattan apartments and also paid for her coding lessons. However, Epstein later appealed these payments and asked Gates to return it to him.
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“The Sanctity of Friendship”
In one of the emails sent to Cohen, Epstein referred to the “sanctity of friendship” and added, “If you can help extend it by three years, that should be enough,” Epstein said in reference to housing and bankrolling Antonova after her relationship with Gates ended. Three years have now passed, Epstein wrote. He “paid for school, helped organize visas” and Antonova had to “stop bridge tournaments and live day in and day out on a friend’s couch without air conditioning”. The three-year-old reference Epstein made was reportedly Gates’ own words.
The report suggests that five months before Epstein died, he was still emailing Gates asking for repayment.
In several emails over the following years, Epstein corresponded with Cohen and Boris Nikolic, then Gates’ chief scientific adviser at the Gates Foundation and his investment firm BGC3. Despite Gates and Epstein’s communication ending in 2014, according to Justice Department documents, the convicted sex offender used Nikolic and Cohen to tell Gates that he had not been paid and that he had helped Mila Antonov get accepted into “computer school.”
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This dragged on until January 2019, when Epstein emailed Gates directly and mentioned the payments he had made, adding that he felt “uncomfortable asking”.
Antonov-Epstein Court
Through her lawyer, Anton said she was unaware of Epstein’s efforts to pressure Gates, adding that she did not provide any services, information or other assurances or act in exchange for his support. Her lawyer said she “naively accepted” Epstein’s help, believing he genuinely wanted to help her.
Antonova’s attorney confirmed that Epstein did indeed make “several unsolicited monetary donations” and paid for her coding education, adding that he also allowed her to use his apartment numerous times between 2014 and 2018. However, the attorney said that Antonova only met Epstein in person twice and that he was never present during her stays.
Reports indicate that Gates has not been charged with wrongdoing, but was called to testify before a House committee about his ties to Epstein last week.
