Well, well well.
On Thursday, a federal judge approved the $290 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit brought by the sex abuse victims of Epstein against JPMorgan Chase—a close mutual business associate of both Gates and Epstein.
Over this past year, JPMorgan has agreed to pay an additional $75 million—for a combined total of $365 million—to settle another lawsuit relating to its established banking relationship with Epstein. The suits revealed that JPMorgan facilitated approximately $1 billion in transfers for Epstein which the bank admitted were “human trafficking” related.
Gates’s relationship with Epstein has been widely known and was even cited by Gates’s ex-wife, Melinda, in the couple’s 2021 divorce proceedings. Bill Gates has denied having any involvement in Epstein’s crimes.
Gates and Epstein’s mutual associates, James E. “Jes” Staley and JPMorgan Chase, were central to Gates’s relationship with Epstein. Gates’s close contacts with Epstein began around 2011, when he and JPMorgan were teaming up to create a global health investment fund, the activities of which are documented extensively in Controligarchs.
As a top executive at JPMorgan, Staley introduced Epstein—an important bank client—to Gates and the two hit it off. Gates flew aboard Epstein’s private jet, met with him “many times,” and visited his home on at least three occasions, despite Epstein’s 2008 conviction for solicitation of a minor, the New York Times reports.
Last year, several of Epstein’s victims and the U.S. Virgin Islands (where the pedophile financier maintained a residence) filed suit against JPMorgan, accusing the bank of enabling the illegal activities of Epstein and his network.