evidence: In 2019, the foundation – whose influence, size and practices had already invited criticism – took an even bigger hit to its reputation when the news emerged, just weeks after Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell, that Gates had met with the convicted sex offender and paedophile several times. Gates clarified that he had met Epstein purely to discuss philanthropy, and that he was sorry for his poor judgment. When news of Gates’ ties to Epstein first came tumbling out in 2019, Gates’ media team did what spinmeisters do – they employed a high-visibility strategy that included multiple television appearances, harnessing the press, just as they had after the Microsoft trial in 1998, the biggest antitrust case of the era, in which Gates gave a three-day deposition, and was by turns indignant and contemptuous of questions about Microsoft’s business practices. Gates has always maintained that he met with Epstein because he was told that the financier could connect him with a lot of rich donors who could help raise more money for philanthropic causes.