Bill Gates Says He Would 'Marry Melinda All Over Again' Despite Divorce, Addresses Jeffrey Epstein Connection

In an interview with the 'Sunday Times,' Microsoft founder Bill Gates said he would "marry Melinda all over again" despite their divorce last year.

Bill and Melinda Gates in the CBS Toyota Greenroom before their appearance on CBS THIS MORNING
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Image via Getty/CBS Photo Archive

Bill and Melinda Gates in the CBS Toyota Greenroom before their appearance on CBS THIS MORNING

Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates announced they were getting a divorce last year. In a new interview however, the Microsoft founder said he would marry his ex-wife “all over again.”

While speaking to the Sunday Times, Gates suggested that he would marry Melinda again if given the chance. He also suggested that they’re still on friendly terms, despite what she told Gayle King in an interview earlier this year.

“Every marriage as the kids leave the house will go through a transition. Mine sadly went through this transition called divorce," Gates said. "But from my point of view it was a great marriage. I wouldn’t have changed it. You know, I wouldn’t choose to marry someone else." Pressed for more, Bill added, “Yes. I’m talking about would I marry Melinda all over again. In terms of my future, I don’t have any plans, but I highly recommend marriage.” 

The couple first announced they were getting a divorce in May 2021, and despite his absurd levels of wealth, they appeared to have a somewhat amicable divorce overall. “We spent some time coming up with a fair settlement that we both signed,” he continued. “But neither of us was facing any real reduction in our consumption. It was more about, OK, I’ll have X billion to give away, you’ll have Y billion to give away. It was about the causes. … We can be reasonably generous to the kids, but the vast majority of the money will go to philanthropy.”

The pair still work together as part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and when asked if he still views them as friends, he acknowledged that she didn’t. “In an interview she chose not to use that word, but I’ll use it,” he said. “We have a, you know, super important, complex, close relationship where we’ve chosen to work together. And I’m very happy that we get to work together.”

Speaking with King last month, Melinda said that she’s hesitant to call Bill a “friend” following their divorce. “We’re friendly at this point,” she said while also touching upon Bill’s connection to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “‘Friends’ is a different word for me. That might come over time. But for me there’s still healing that needs to happen. Certainly, I wish him well. I don’t wish him harm.” She cited the Epstein connection as one of the “many” reasons they split.

Bill also addressed his connection to Epstein in the new interview, and admitted that he made a mistake. “At the time, I didn’t realize that by having those meetings it would be seen as giving him credibility," he said. "You’re almost saying, ‘I forgive that type of behavior,’ or something. So clearly the way it’s seen, I made a huge mistake not understanding that."

Last year, Gates admitted he made a “huge mistake” by meeting with Epstein on multiple occasions. “I had several dinners with [Epstein] hoping that what he said about getting billions of philanthropy for global health through contacts that he had might emerge,” Gates, who is said to have first met Epstein in 2011, said. “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 being there. You know, there were lots of others in that same situation, but I made a mistake.”

Three years before Epstein first met with the Microsoft founder, he pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from girls as young as 14. In 2019, he was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges, and was found dead in his cell a month later.

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