Bill Gates calls divorce 'a sad milestone,' friendship with Jeffrey Epstein a 'huge mistake'
Bill Gates on Wednesday night called his divorce from his wife of 27 years, Melinda French Gates, a "source of great personal sadness," and said his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was a "huge mistake."
"It's a sad milestone," Gates told CNN's Anderson Cooper during a wide-ranging interview. "Melinda's a great person and that partnership that we had coming to an end is a source of great personal sadness."
Gates and French Gates have agreed to continue to run The Gates Foundation together. If after two years they decide they cannot continue in their roles, French Gates will resign her positions as co-chair and trustee. Gates would buy her out of the foundation and she would receive resources from him to do her own philanthropic work as part of the agreement.
"Melinda has incredible strengths that she brings that helped the foundation be better. We always enjoyed our work together," he said.
