Jeffrey Epstein allegedly tried to extort Bill Gates over extramarital affair

The convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein appeared to threaten Bill Gates and tried to blackmail the multi-billionaire over his extramarital affair with a Russian bridge player, according to a new report published by the Wall Street Journal.

Speaking to the Journal, sources familiar with the matter said that after Epstein found out about the Microsoft co-founder’s affair with Russian bridge player Mila Antonova, he threatened Gates into reimbursing him for tuition costs that Epstein had initially covered for Antonova to attend software coding school.

Epstein’s threat to Gates came in the form of an email he sent in 2017 after he failed to convince Gates to join a multibillion-dollar charity fund he attempted to set up, according to the sources.

Gates met Antonova in about 2010, when she was in her 20s, and went on to play bridge with her. In a 2010 YouTube video, Antonova recounted a tournament that she played with Gates, saying: “I didn’t beat him but I tried to kick him with my leg.”

According to documents reviewed by the Journal, Antonova wanted to establish an online bridge tutorial business and was attempting to secure funds. Through Boris Nikolic, a close Gates adviser, Antonova was introduced to Epstein to help her raise funds for her initiative, which sought to “promote bridge by creating quality tutorials for beginners and advanced players”, the Journal reported.

Antonova and Nikolic met Epstein at his townhouse in November 2013 in New York City, where she presented her fundraising proposals to him and sought half a million dollars, according to the Journal. Antonova told the outlet that Epstein ultimately did not invest in the initiative.

Nevertheless, Antonova went on to stay at an apartment in New York a year later that Epstein provided her. “I didn’t interact with him or with anyone else while there,” she said.

Epstein at one point paid for Antonova to attend software coding school, the Journal reported.

“Epstein agreed to pay, and he paid directly to the school,” she told the outlet. “Nothing was exchanged. I don’t know why he did that.

“When I asked, he said something like he was wealthy and wanted to help people when he could.”

During the time Antonova was looking to set up her initiative, Epstein was also trying to set up his own fund. According to documents reviewed by the Journal, Epstein was attempting to establish his charitable fund with JP Morgan, which would require ultra-wealthy individuals to make a minimum $100m contribution and pay him millions of dollars in fees.

The fund was supposed to be a way for Epstein to rebuild his reputation after he was forced to register as a sex offender and had pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution, according to sources that spoke to the Journal.

Documents reviewed by the outlet showed that Epstein’s fund was contingent upon obtaining support from Gates.

In emails sent to JP Morgan executives, Epstein tried to come off as a close adviser to Gates, despite not including the Microsoft co-founder in the emails, which the Journal reviewed.