The Gates Foundation has commissioned an external investigation of its past engagement with Jeffrey Epstein, CEO Mark Suzman told staff in a memo this week, as billionaire and foundation cofounder Bill Gates prepares to testify before Congress in June about his relationship with the late sex offender.<\/p>\n
The memo was first reported <\/a>by the Wall Street Journal. In a statement the foundation gave the Journal, it said the review was launched in March with help from Gates and the foundation\u2019s independent board members and is expected to deliver an update this summer. It will also examine the foundation\u2019s policies for vetting new philanthropic partnerships, according to the memo. A recent board meeting in London included a session on the impact of the Justice Department\u2019s Epstein files on the foundation, Suzman wrote in the memo.<\/p>\n The review follows Fortune\u2019s March investigation<\/a> into how Epstein spent nearly a decade embedding himself in Gates\u2019 inner circle. A spokesman for Gates told Fortune in March that Gates \u201cregrets meeting with Epstein\u201d and that he \u201cnever witnessed or engaged in any illicit or illegal behavior.\u201d The Gates Foundation did not immediately respond to Fortune\u2019s request for comment for this story.<\/p>\n Based on documents from the more than 3 million pages of DOJ files, Fortune\u2019s reporting found Epstein spent a decade building a network of intermediaries to get closer to Gates. The network included Gates\u2019 \u201cright hand\u201d and chief science advisor Boris Nikolic; a former Gates Foundation senior advisor named Melanie Walker; and Mila Antonova, who was reportedly Gates\u2019 former mistress. Epstein went so far<\/a> as to help Antonova, a Russian citizen, secure a visa, put her up in his New York apartments, fund her coding classes, and send her wire transfers. Epstein then used these favors to try to pressure Gates, Fortune found\u2014writing to Gates\u2019 deputy, Larry Cohen, in April 2018 that he had put Antonova up in his New York apartment and that Gates was \u201cplaying with fire.\u201d<\/p>\n Antonova\u2019s attorney told Fortune in March that she had no knowledge of Epstein\u2019s efforts to pressure Gates and that she \u201cnaively accepted\u201d his help, believing he genuinely wanted her to succeed.<\/p>\n Nikolic told Fortune in March that \u201cEpstein inserted himself as a mediator\u201d into Nikolic\u2019s separation from Gates\u2019 venture fund, \u201cand then used lies to pursue his own agenda.\u201d He added that he realized this after the fact and continued on without Epstein\u2019s involvement in his work. DOJ documents show Nikolic and Epstein communicated as late as 2019. Walker, who like Nikolic has not been charged with wrongdoing, declined to comment on Fortune\u2019s March story through her lawyers.<\/p>\n Epstein\u2019s goal, the DOJ documents showed, was that Gates participate in a donor-advised fund Epstein had pitched him on since at least 2011, through which Gates would help manage the wealth of newly minted billionaires. After the project stalled in 2014, Epstein heightened his communication with Gates and his deputies, seemingly trying to pressure the billionaire into supporting the fund and compensating him for funding Antonova\u2019s schooling and housing.<\/p>\n Gates has characterized the relationship as a \u201cmistake\u201d focused on philanthropy and has not been charged with wrongdoing. At a foundation town hall earlier this year, he apologized for having affairs with two Russian women and said he regretted his time with Epstein.<\/p>\n Cutbacks at the Gates Foundation<\/p>\n Suzman\u2019s memo to foundation staffers this week also detailed a long-planned restructuring that will cut roughly 500 jobs, or 20% of the foundation\u2019s staff, by 2030, a goal that was announced in January<\/a>. The first 200 positions will be eliminated by the end of 2027.<\/p>\n Suzman told staff that a recent board meeting in London included a session on the impact of the DOJ files on the foundation\u2019s work and reputation.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a challenging time for our organization in many ways, but it also highlights the critical importance of taking the tough actions now,\u201d he wrote in the recent memo.<\/p>\n Some of the foundation\u2019s most important relationships have taken a significant hit in the wake of revelations about Gates\u2019 relationship with Epstein. Melinda French Gates left the board following her 2021 divorce from Bill Gates, and has said<\/a> Gates\u2019 continued contact with Epstein played a role in their separation. Warren Buffett, who gave roughly $43 billion to the foundation between 2006 and 2024, told CNBC<\/a> recently that he has not spoken to Gates since the Epstein disclosures came to light and suggested he may not make further donations. His annual gifts are typically announced in June\u2014the same month Gates is set to appear before Congress.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to be in a position where I know things \u2026 to be called as a witness,\u201d Buffett told CNBC in March.<\/p>\n