Bill Gates allegedly had an affair with Russian bridge player Mila Antonova and Jeffrey Epstein threatened to out the billionaire, as per a report by The Wall Street Journal.
Epstein committed suicide in 2019. As per The Journal’s report, he asked Bill Gates to contribute to a multibillion-dollar charity fund back in 2013. When the Microsoft founder refused to comply, the American sex offender and financier threatened to use his knowledge of his extramarital relationship to blackmail him.
Who is Mila Antonova?
Mila Antonova is a Russian bridge player who allegedly had an affair with Bill Gates.
According to rumors, Gates met Antonova at a tournament in 2010 and had an affair with her around the same time. Gates has previously mentioned bridge as one of his favorite pastimes.
Epstein came across her later, in or around 2013, when she was attempting to acquire capital for the launch of an online bridge platform. Despite not funding the project, he eventually paid for her to enroll at a software coding school.
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The ‘threat’ wasn’t made until Epstein wrote to Gates in 2017 requesting payment for Antonova’s coding school in a manner that suggested he was aware of the relationship and could make it public.
According to Gates, no such fee was ever paid, which according to the Journal was ‘immaterial for the two men’. “Mr. Gates never had any financial dealings with Epstein. As Bill has said before, it was a mistake to have ever met him,” his spokesperson told DailyMail on Sunday.
In a 2010 YouTube video where Antonova presents on the card game and talks about meeting the billionaire at the competition, a photo of Gates and Antonova together is displayed.
She claimed on the video, “I didn’t beat him, but I tried to kick him with my leg.” The romance allegedly took place in 2010 at the same time that Gates was wed to his ex-wife Melinda Gates.
Antonova has not immediately responded to a request for comment from multiple reporters.