London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 17, 2025

Bill Gates on Elon Musk feud and Jeffrey Epstein meetings

Bill Gates on Elon Musk feud and Jeffrey Epstein meetings

In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC's Today programme, Bill Gates says conspiracy theories about him are "crazy" and that being shouted at in public is "awful". He also told the BBC's Mishal Husain that meeting Jeffrey Epstein was a "mistake" and talks about Elon Musk's recent public criticism of him.

Bill Gates used to be the world's richest person. That title is now held by Elon Musk. The two men, however, don't get on.

Last week Mr Musk accused Mr Gates of "shorting" Tesla stock - a way of making money by betting that a company will lose value. Mr Musk has also tweeted puerile insults towards Mr Gates on Twitter.

"There's no need for him to be nice to me," Mr Gates says.

Mr Musk has argued that shorting Tesla, a company that makes electric cars, undermines Mr Gates' environmental philanthropy.

Asked specifically about whether he had bet against Tesla, Mr Gates replied: "That has nothing to do with climate change. I have ways of diversifying."

He pushed back against the idea that shorting Tesla was environmentally damaging.

"The popularity of electric cars will lead to more competition for selling those cars. So there's a difference between electric cars being adopted, and companies becoming infinitely valuable."

Mr Musk has recently had a bid to buy Twitter accepted by the company's board.

Asked what he made of the deal, Mr Gates said: "You know, Elon, I guess it's possible Twitter could be worse. But it also could be better… So I have a wait and see attitude."

Mr Gates has a particular interest in social media, not because that's how he made his billions, but because he has become a focus of conspiracy theories.

He has long been an advocate of vaccines - and has pumped billions into inoculation programmes around the world.

That prominence has made him the subject of bizarre and unfounded claims that he is trying to track people through the jabs. Many of the theories have been promoted on social media platforms, and took off during the pandemic.

"In some ways, you almost have to laugh because it's so crazy," he says.

"I mean, do I really want to track people? You know, I spend billions on vaccines, I don't make money on vaccines, vaccines save lives."

Mr Gates also said he'd been shouted at by conspiracy theorists on the street.

An anti-lockdown activist in London


"Only recently I've been out in public, [and] some people yell at me that I'm tracking them. And that, that's an awful thing."

Mr Gates and his wife Melinda French Gates announced that they were getting a divorce last year. The couple set up the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - one of the largest charitable organisations in the world - and had been married for 27 years.

"My life is very different. My kids are gone from the house, the last one left for college a year ago. The divorce is very hard. It was a tough year," he says.

The marriage ended with reports that Mr Gates had had an extra-marital affair. In March Melinda Gates also said that she questioned why he had held meetings with disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

"I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, no. I made that clear to him", she told CBS in March.

Asked about the meetings, Mr Gates described talking with Epstein as a "mistake".

"I made a mistake ever meeting with Jeffrey Epstein. You know, maybe her [Melinda's] instincts on that were keener than mine.

"Any meeting I had with him could be viewed as almost condoning his evil behaviour. So, that was a mistake."


Bill Gates: Conspiracy theorists yell at me on the street


Comments

Oh ya 3 year ago
Yes billy kids are out of bounds and least you exwife was smart enough to dump you

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
×