Dangerous Epstein: How Did He Weave an Invisible Network Leading to Bill Gates?

(Source: FORTUNE)

In November 2012, Steven Sinofsky abruptly left Microsoft, a development that shocked Silicon Valley. Sinofsky was a protégé of Bill Gates, Microsoft’s co-founder; after graduating from graduate school, he joined Microsoft. At the time, he was president of the Windows division, responsible for managing the operating system that provides support for more than 90% of computers worldwide. He was widely seen by outsiders as the successor to then-CEO Steve Ballmer.

The next day after the news was announced, Microsoft’s stock price fell by nearly 3% on the spot, and its market value evaporated by billions of dollars. A few months later, the separation agreement was disclosed in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and analysts carefully examined its details. One commentator pointed out that the agreement’s “non-disparagement clause” (editor’s note: prohibiting statements that are unfavorable to the original company) looked as if Sinofsky, compelled to swear, was vowing that he would “never leak secrets.”

And that was exactly the effect Jeffrey Epstein wanted.

At the time, Epstein was a convicted financier. He had previously been sentenced for recruiting and诱导 minors into prostitution, and he was registered as a sex offender. In the months before the incident, he had been providing consulting services regarding Sinofsky’s separation. On April 3, 2013, he directly issued a hefty quote for handling Sinofsky’s separation compensation plan: “I will charge a one million dollar service fee,” Epstein wrote in an email. He had also previously said he was dissatisfied that this Microsoft executive was not showing enough gratitude.

Steven Sinofsky, former president of the Windows and Windows Live divisions. U.S. Department of Justice documents show that he paid Epstein $1 million and retained him to negotiate his separation compensation plan. Image source: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images

“Anything you want me to do, other than playing a villain, I can do,” Epstein said. He told Sinofsky—who, caught in the turmoil surrounding the departure, was having trouble seeing the bigger picture. Epstein wrote: “If you’re willing, I can take full charge, so you can be completely out of it.”

Ultimately, Epstein served as Sinofsky’s lead negotiator, working alongside his lawyer, Jay Lefkowitz (editor’s note: Lefkowitz had negotiated Epstein’s 2008 guilty plea agreement, and the documents show he also asked Epstein to help arrange charter helicopter rentals).

Ultimately, Sinofsky and Microsoft reached a separation agreement worth $14 million. On September 16, 2013, Epstein received a forwarded email with the subject “Sinofsky,” stating: ‘The wire transfer has been completed.’ The next morning, Epstein’s accountant sent a confirmation message: “The money was wired into the account at JPMorgan yesterday… Confirmed receipt of $1 million.”

Sinofsky declined to comment on this article. He currently serves as a board partner at Andreessen Horowitz. Microsoft also declined to comment.

Penetrating Gates’s inner circle

Why could a convicted sex offender become the million-dollar negotiator for Microsoft’s #2 executive? At bottom, this is a story of how Epstein managed to get himself into the core circle of the world’s top super-rich at the time—Bill Gates. Newly disclosed U.S. Department of Justice documents show that when Epstein couldn’t directly reach the billionaire, he built connections through intermediaries. Sinofsky was only one of them. This strategy appears to be a well-worn tactic Epstein used to win over other powerful figures, such as Elon Musk.

The documents show that Sinofsky provided Epstein with information about Gates’s business matters, his decision-making approach, and details about his inner circle. Epstein also obtained intelligence through other agents, including:

• Melanie Walker: Sinofsky’s long-term partner; a former senior adviser to the Gates Foundation; a neurosurgeon. • Boris Nikolich: Gates’s former chief science adviser. • Mila Antonova: a Russian bridge player; according to reports, Gates had a relationship with her around 2010. U.S. Department of Justice documents show that Epstein had given her gifts and arranged lodging, and then tried to use that to blackmail Gates.

Image source: GETTY IMAGES

As Epstein helped people handle crises, he gained even more undisclosed inside information. His penetration began around 2010 and continued through 2019. According to The Wall Street Journal, Gates said his relationship with Epstein was limited to charity—and that it was an “error” he took the initiative to end around 2014.

Documents disclose that Epstein’s ultimate goal was to push Gates to establish a “donor-advised fund” (editor’s note: a charitable tool through which donors can manage their wealth and receive tax benefits). Epstein and other donors could profit from the fund’s management fees via tax write-offs. Gates once said he supported it and even proposed discussing it at a dinner expected to include Ray Dalio and Paul Tudor Jones. But the project ultimately stalled. Epstein’s attitude also shifted from promotion to pressure, eventually turning into a scheme of extortion.

The escalation of this incident—and the chain reactions that followed—were gradually fueled through the intermediary network Epstein had painstakingly cultivated over many years.

A written statement from a spokesperson for Bill Gates to FORTUNE said: “Gates deeply regrets knowing Epstein… The documents show that Epstein went to great lengths to infiltrate Gates’s life. It needs to be made clear that Gates never witnessed or participated in any wrongdoing.”

Insider revolt inside the Gates Foundation

Epstein’s connection to Sinofsky came in part from his first proxy in Gates’s inner circle: Melanie Walker, Sinofsky’s long-term partner. In a mail captured in U.S. Department of Justice documents, Walker wrote that she met Epstein in the early 1990s, when she was only 23 years old. The two were introduced to each other by Donald Trump at the Plaza Hotel in New York.

According to Rolling Stone, Epstein did her favors; it is said that in 1998 he hired her to serve as his science adviser. Over the next 20 years, while maintaining close contact with Epstein, Walker built an impressive professional résumé—serving on the boards of the Gates Foundation, as an adviser to the World Health Organization, and as a director at the World Bank. She is currently a clinical professor of neurosurgery at the University of Washington.

In most of the documents published by the Department of Justice, Walker’s name was redacted. But those redactions were not thorough. In some cases, it was possible to infer her identity from her initials, her MD credentials, and descriptions of her profession and partner in the emails.

In addition, Wired, Forbes, and The Daily Telegraph have all confirmed that the author of the relevant emails was Walker. From these communications, it can be seen that Walker often used “BG” and “Bill” as references to Gates.

In hundreds of emails and chat messages between Walker and Epstein, she treated the financier as a confidant and disclosed many details about work and her private life. For example, in July 2011, she told Epstein that Gates was considering personally returning to run the company, and she said Gates believed Sinofsky was “too harsh of a person” and “not suitable” to be CEO—then pleaded with Epstein not to publicize it.

Walker rejected the request to comment on this article through her lawyer. She has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

In an iMessage chat record dated January 27, 2017, Walker reported to Epstein on Gates’s meeting in Washington and relayed Gates’s message: Gates wanted to “have more contact with you,” but any interactions “must go through a third party you can trust.” She explained that the main obstacle came from Melinda Gates. (According to The Wall Street Journal, Gates told employees recently that he was “glad from the start” that Melinda “had doubts about Epstein.”) Melinda’s spokesperson said she had met Epstein only once and did not want any further contact.

Bill Gates attends the Bloomberg Social event at the Plaza Hotel in New York City on September 23, 2025. Image source: Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images

But when Walker’s position at the foundation was shaken, Epstein again served as an adviser. In a text message, Walker revealed that Melinda had handled her departure in person.

As negotiations progressed, Walker and Gates grew tense. In July 2017, she told Epstein that she felt she had been “trapped” by Gates and that Gates was “absolutely disgusting.” Epstein replied: “Trust me—I know all too well.”

But in the end, it seems Walker still took the job in Gates’s private office for a while, at least. Walker told Epstein that Melinda Gates warned that if Walker “interfered and caused trouble,” the job arrangement in that bgc3 would “become even harder.”

On the left is Bill Gates, on the right is Melinda Franque Gates, photographed at the 2010 World Economic Forum. The two divorced in 2021. Image source: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images

At Epstein’s suggestion, Walker even threatened to possess so-called “blue dress emails” (editor’s note: this refers to the key evidence in the Clinton-Lewinsky sex scandal—the unwashed blue dress allegedly bearing President Bill Clinton’s DNA of Monica Lewinsky—which was the key evidence proving their affair).

In an email six weeks later, Walker used Epstein’s wording and said she held the so-called “blue dress emails.” She wrote: “I could always put his bodily fluids up on eBay for auction.” But she never found a way out: “Perhaps the legal system can deliver justice to me, but exposure would be deeply humiliating.” Epstein urged her to fight to the end: “Your future reputation is in your own hands. I’ll do everything I can to help you, but if you only want to sneak away quietly, that’s your choice.”

In the end, it seems Walker did at least get hired into bgc3, if not for good. Her personal bio at the World Economic Forum shows that Walker had served as Bill Gates III’s neuroscience and brain science adviser at bgc3.

According to The Wall Street Journal, in a speech to employees earlier this month, Gates admitted he had had affairs with two Russian women, but insisted he had never done anything “illegal,” while expressing regret about his relationship with Epstein.

Another proxy departs—and $5 million

Around the same time, another Gates insider—chief science adviser Boris Nikolich—also left, and Epstein intervened as well.

Boris Nikolich had once been one of Bill Gates’s most trusted people. He served as Gates’s chief science adviser, overseeing the foundation’s global health programs, and also managed the business of Gates Private Investment Office bgc3. In emails released by the U.S. Department of Justice, Boris referred to Gates as “a close friend,” and people who knew him called him Gates’s “right-hand man.”

Image source: GETTY IMAGES

The documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice also show that he was one of the people with the most frequent communications with Jeffrey Epstein, with the earliest emails between the two dating back to 2009.

In a statement to FORTUNE, Nikolich wrote: “Epstein is a master manipulator, and I deeply regret my past relationship with him.” He is not accused of any wrongdoing.

Documents show that it was Nikolich who, in 2013, arranged private meetings between Gates and Epstein, and he even invited Gates to go with him to the famous Crazy Horse cabaret in Paris. He also promised he could arrange for Gates to meet performers backstage, saying, “Jeffrey and some of the guys there have dated.” But

On June 8, 2013, Gates declined the invitation: “I’m just too exhausted, and I also don’t want to take that risk. Maybe when I was younger I would have gone, but this time it’s a no!”

U.S. Department of Justice documents show that later, Nikolich told Epstein that four days after he issued the invitation, Gates informed Nikolich that the working relationship had ended.

It’s not yet clear why Nikolich and Gates ultimately broke up. But by November of that year, Nikolich had his own theory.

In an email sent to Epstein late at night, he laid out a timeline based on his inbox. He wrote that on May 22, 2013, “the Mila incident happened”—clearly referring to the turmoil involving Russian bridge player Mila Antonova, which was said to have involved an affair between Gates and her. Three weeks later, Epstein met Gates in Paris. Another month after that, Nikolich said Gates sent him an email mentioning that “Melinda found out about this,” adding that his working relationship with Nikolich had to end.

Documents show that both Nikolich and Epstein believed that Nikolich leaving the Gates Foundation and bgc3—at least in part—was Melinda Gates’s decision. On June 16, Nikolich told Epstein that Bill Gates “was still trying to repair his relationship with Melinda. Next weekend there will be another round of negotiations. If everything can’t be salvaged, then negotiations will have to be opened up for what comes next.” Epstein advised him: “I don’t think you realize how weak he is. Right now, you represent pain; he’ll figure out a way to avoid pain because he can’t escape Melinda.”

Nikolich also enlisted Epstein to negotiate his resignation. Gates authorized his investment firm’s CEO, Larry Cohen, to communicate with Epstein via email. Cohen did not respond to FORTUNE’s request for comment.

In a letter from Jeffrey Epstein to Boris Nikolich, he wrote: “I don’t think you realize how weak [Gates] is…” Image source: The US Justice Department / Handout /Anadolu via Getty Images

On July 18, 2013, Epstein sent himself two resignation letter draft emails that appeared to have been written by Nikolich to Gates, containing multiple serious allegations. Nikolich later told The Wall Street Journal that these emails were “not written on my behalf, nor at my request.” Gates’s spokesperson said the allegations were “pure nonsense.”

On August 29, 2013, Epstein confirmed Nikolich’s separation agreement. The final terms were on par with the departure package of a top executive at a FORTUNE 500 company: a $5 million advance payment, plus Gates providing funding for Nikolich’s newly established venture capital fund. Gates replied: “I think it’s a good thing that we were able to reach an agreement that benefits everyone.”

This money later became seed funding for Nikolich’s venture capital fund, Biomatics Capital.

Epstein even got involved in the wording of the resignation announcement. Gates’s final version was gentler, but the framework came from Epstein’s initial draft.

In a statement to FORTUNE, Nikolich wrote: “Regarding my departure from bgc3, Epstein stepped in proactively as a mediator, and then carried out his scheme with lies. After completing my resignation process, I realized this and then completely cut ties with him, no longer letting him participate in my work, and I never accepted any of his investments.” But U.S. Department of Justice documents show that Epstein’s contact with Boris continued through 2019.

A card beyond business: Mila Antonova

During the same period in which Nikolich negotiated his resignation, Epstein reached Mila Antonova through him. According to The Wall Street Journal, Russian bridge player Mila Antonova had dated Gates around 2010. Antonova’s lawyer sent a letter to FORTUNE confirming that she met Gates in a bridge tournament in 2009 and “maintained a relationship with him for a period of time.”

Documents show that Epstein tried to use Antonova to pressure Gates. The day after the “Mila incident” in May 2013, Nikolich—who was still employed by the Gates Foundation at the time—contacted an immigration lawyer for Antonova, who had “overstayed” her crew member visa. He also wrote in an email that he was “willing to cover the relevant costs.”

Antonova’s lawyer confirmed the referral, but denied that Nikolich took it upon himself to cover the costs, saying the relevant expenses were paid by Antonova and her then husband. She also said Antonova’s last contact with Gates was in May 2013.

In 2014, Epstein began funding Antonova. That year, Antonova’s lawyer confirmed she had accepted the funding, but stressed that she “naively” believed the other party was genuinely helping her; Epstein was never present and she provided no services in exchange.

In 2016, Gates had stopped direct contact with Epstein. Epstein then passed messages to Gates through Nikolich, emphasizing that he still had contact with Antonova. In July 2017, Antonova wrote to Epstein expressing gratitude.

Epstein then contacted Cohen, saying he had funded Gates’s “old friend” (apparently referring to Antonova), but that he “received not a single thank-you and not a penny in reimbursements,” and he gave Cohen a final deadline.

Privately, he emailed Nikolich to mock Gates for being stingy.

Later, in an email to Cohen, Epstein made clear that Gates had told him to “hold this matter off for three years,” and now the deadline was up. He wrote: “I know you and Bill value the sacredness of friendship just like I do.” At first, Cohen said Gates would agree to a meeting, but later said Gates had “gone missing.” Epstein kept pressing him, even emailing Gates directly to ask why he wouldn’t repay the “advanced” money.

Gates had told employees that Epstein continued emailing about the matter, but he never responded.

In April 2018, Antonova moved back into Epstein’s apartment. Epstein sent Cohen a harshly worded email: “I had to arrange a week of lodging for Mila in New York… This is playing with fire.” Antonova’s lawyer said she was “completely unaware” of the content between Epstein and Cohen and could not speculate, and that there was no basis for her to think that Epstein was pressuring Gates by exploiting her financial circumstances.

In 2012, Bill Gates was playing bridge—he met Mila Antonova through this sport. Image source: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

In July 2018, Melanie Walker (Sinofsky’s long-term partner; a former senior adviser to the Gates Foundation) reported to Epstein on the status of the entire relationship network:

• Gates is “stuck in a predicament, yet has no willingness to change the situation”; • Nikolich bought a “super mansion” in Seattle, and his second fund is also about to finish fundraising; • Sinofsky is “bored to death,” yet still can’t find a way out that suits him; • and when Walker talked about herself, she wrote: “I don’t have any dreams left.”

The final pressure and the end

At the start of 2019, Epstein spent a decade building all the channels around Gates, and in the end it turned into a comprehensive pressure campaign.

The pretext was still that “donor-advised fund.” Documents show that Gates pushed actively in 2014, even planning to pitch it at dinners with other wealthy people, but it was ultimately dropped because no one else responded positively. In 2017, Walker told Epstein that Gates regretted the fund because his wife disagreed.

In November 2018, the Miami Herald published an investigative report exposing Epstein’s criminal scheme targeting vulnerable girls and the legal system that shielded him. Epstein began complaining to Nikolich about the “cruel crackdown” by the media. As he reached a dead end, the language of his emails to Gates and Cohen grew sharper and more direct.

Jeffrey Epstein in 2004. Image source: Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty Images

On January 5, 2019, he emailed Gates saying: “I think you ultimately have to pay me back the expenses you advanced… Bringing it up makes me feel awkward too.”

On January 9, 2019, he emailed Gates and Cohen to demand the “advanced expenses” and asked for a meeting. Epstein wrote: “I think it’s best to wait until Bill is on the East Coast, and then we’ll set aside an hour to meet specifically.” At the same time, he began compiling evidence of his meetings with Gates.

On January 13, 2019, he asked his assistant to look up “past photos and emails” to confirm when he met Gates at “the airport in Washington, D.C.”—the Department of Justice documents show that this clearly referred to the meeting between Epstein and Gates at Reagan National Airport in December 2013, arranged with the help of Nikolich.

Meanwhile, Epstein also mentioned Jeff Bezos. (Editor’s note: at the time, Amazon founder Bezos was at the center of public attention due to the exposure of an affair.)

On January 20, Epstein emailed Gates saying: “I hope you’ll follow Bezos’s example.” From the content of the email, the public cannot clearly determine what Epstein intended by mentioning Bezos. Just ten days earlier, Bezos announced his divorce from Mackenzie Scott, and at the same time gossip media began reporting on the Amazon founder’s relationship with his current wife, Lauren Sanchez.

A few weeks later, Walker said she had seen Gates again. She told Epstein that the two ate cheeseburgers together and talked about science-related topics, and “he looked happier than he had in a long time.” Walker said that during her meeting with Gates, she suggested that Gates call Epstein back, and Gates “didn’t say a word,” only asked about Epstein’s recent situation. She wrote: “I told him you’re doing fine and you’ve been busy with a lot of research.”

Five months later, in July 2019, Epstein was arrested on suspicion of sex trafficking involving underage girls.

The following month, he died in prison.

Gates’s connection to Epstein continues to trouble the billionaire philanthropist to this day. He has been summoned to testify by a committee of the U.S. House of Representatives regarding his relationship with Epstein. A spokesperson for Gates said Gates was “honored to have the opportunity to appear at the committee hearing” and looked forward to answering all questions, even though he “never witnessed, and never participated in, any unlawful conduct involving Epstein.” (FORTUNE China)

Author: Eva Roytburg, Jim Edwards