‘I wouldn’t trust that guy to babysit my youngsters’ – Business News
Elon Musk lashed out at Bill Gates after the Microsoft co-founder accused him of “killing the world’s poorest children” over his management of cost-cutting company DOGE — retorting that he wouldn’t trust Gates round his youngsters as a result of of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
“Who does Bill Gates think he is to make comments about the welfare of children given that he frequented Jeffrey Epstein?” Musk mentioned during an interview on Tuesday on the Bloomberg Qatar Economic Forum.
“I wouldn’t trust that guy to baby-sit my kids, I can tell you that.”
(From left) Ex-Barclays CEO Jes Staley, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Gates and Boris Nikolic at Epstein’s Manhattan home in 2011.
Musk’s assault was a nod to Gates’ controversial historical past with Epstein, the disgraced financier and convicted intercourse offender with high-level connections whose death in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 was ruled a suicide.
Musk’s broadside assault on Gates got here after the software program mogul gave a blistering interview to the Financial Times earlier this month through which he accused the previous DOGE chief of recklessly gutting US international support packages.
“The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one,” Gates mentioned, pointing to cuts in USAID funding for HIV-prevention treatment in Mozambique.
“I’d love for him to go in and meet the children that have now been infected with HIV because he cut that money.”
Gates mentioned the choice to slash USAID funding stemmed from conspiracy theories reportedly circulated in Musk’s internal circle — particularly, that US international support was getting used to ship condoms to Hamas in Gaza.
Musk vehemently denied Gates’ claims on Tuesday, including: “Show us any evidence whatsoever that that is true. It’s false.”
Elon Musk lashed out at Bill Gates during a Bloomberg Qatar Economic Forum this week. Youtube/Austin American-Statesman
In February, Musk’s company declared that it was “time for [USAID] to die,” and defunded quite a few packages.
In defending the cuts, a White House spokesperson described Musk as “a patriot working to fulfill President Trump’s mission to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.”
The escalating feud between Musk and Gates is the most recent flare-up in a years-long conflict between the 2 tech titans, together with a 2022 episode through which Musk publicly mocked Gates after studying the Microsoft founder had shorted Tesla stock.
Representatives for Gates and Musk didn’t instantly reply to The Post’s requests for remark.
The Microsoft billionaire met with Epstein a number of instances earlier than his death, together with at the least three get-togethers on the financier’s Manhattan townhouse, in accordance to the New York Times.
Bill Gates and Russian bridge participant Mila Antonova. IgniteNYC/YouTube
The conferences began in 2011, after Epstein had already pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution, served jail time and registered as a intercourse offender, in accordance to the report.
Gates was working a huge philanthropic establishment with a number of packages devoted to gender equality for ladies and ladies during that time by way of his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“His lifestyle is very different and kind of intriguing although it would not work for me,” Gates reportedly mentioned in an e mail to colleagues in 2011 after that first assembly.
A spokesperson for Gates has mentioned he was solely referring to the way in which Epstein’s home was adorned and his behavior of spontaneously inviting friends, not any “sense of interest or approval.”
Epstein was later indicted on federal intercourse trafficking fees involving dozens of underage ladies.
Gates has mentioned he regrets the conferences, calling them “a huge mistake,” and the interactions finally performed a position within the unraveling of his longtime marriage.
Mila Antonova, the Russian bridge participant who allegedly had an affair with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. IgniteNYC/YouTube
Melinda French Gates informed “CBS Mornings” in March 2022 that her resolution to divorce Gates after 27 years was influenced partially by her discomfort together with his affiliation with Epstein, saying she made her disapproval “clear” to her then-husband.
Even after their marriage in 1994, Gates reportedly pursued ladies at Microsoft on a number of events and have become recognized for his clumsy advances, fueling workplace gossip, although he didn’t strain these ladies into complying, a number of staff informed the Times.
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At one time, Epstein seemingly threatened Gates with data of his affair with a 20-something Russian bridge participant, Mila Antonova, in accordance to the Wall Street Journal.
He despatched an e mail demanding Gates reimburse him for Antonova’s coding faculty tuition after the financier failed to persuade Gates to launch a multibillion-dollar charitable fund with JPMorgan Chase, in accordance to the report.
A spokesperson for Gates has acknowledged Epstein tried to use “a past relationship” to threaten him, including that Gates didn’t make the fee.
Elon Musk listens during a White House cupboard assembly in March. AFP through Getty Images
Musk, in the meantime, has his own ties to Epstein, acknowledging that they met for a temporary half-hour on the intercourse offender’s Manhattan home.
He additionally attended a dinner hosted by LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman with friends together with Epstein and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in accordance to Vanity Fair.
The Tesla founder was pictured in 2014 alongside Ghislaine Maxwell — Epstein’s confederate who was convicted in 2021 of intercourse trafficking — at a Vanity Fair Oscars after-party, although he claimed she “photo-bombed” him on the occasion.
In 2023, Musk was subpoenaed by the US Virgin Islands in reference to a lawsuit towards JPMorgan Chase over its ties to Epstein, although he denied having any relationship with Epstein or searching for his financial advice.
