Melinda French Gates: I Had Epstein Nightmares After Meeting

Melinda French Gates says this chapter of her life is "beautiful"—but it took a divorce, nightmares about Jeffrey Epstein, and a sharpened sense of mission to get here. In a new interview with the Guardian, the 61-year-old philanthropist describes meeting the late sex offender just once and instantly sensing "evil," calling him "an abhorrent human being" and saying her "heart goes out" to his victims. She criticizes a justice system that "did not do its job" in stopping him and notes she'd long been wary of her ex-husband Bill Gates' association with Epstein, which she has cited as one factor in their 2021 split.

Now fully focused on her own firm, Pivotal, French Gates is steering billions toward women's health and power. Pivotal has already pledged $2 billion and is adding $215 million for reproductive care and issues like menopause, which she says feels like it's "invisible" to the world, despite driving women from the workforce. A Catholic who now unequivocally backs abortion rights, she argues that "only we own our bodies" and wants more women in positions of authority, calling them "the bedrock of society." Wealth, she adds, is a "huge privilege"—and one she feels obligated to use to make others' lives easier. More from her here.