Where Are They Now · Profile 15

Bill Gates

Bill Gates
Photo: Ken Shipp / U.S. Department of Energy (public domain)

William H. "Bill" Gates III; Gates Foundation (formerly Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation).

Claims are labeled Documented, Allegation or Open question. An allegation or open question is not a finding of wrongdoing. Narration such as “teaches you everything you need to know to commit genocide the science-y way” (00:14:39) is the film's satire and characterization, not a factual finding.

Who he was in the COVID era

  • Co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Left Microsoft's board in Mar 2020. Documented
  • Leading private funder of the COVID vaccine and therapeutics architecture (Gavi, CEPI, COVAX, the Therapeutics Accelerator). Documented (generally; amounts are below)
  • His own X posts Documented:
    • Apr 2, 2020 (post): "If everything goes well, there might be an effective vaccine in less than 18 months—the fastest a vaccine has ever been developed. That will depend on decisions we make today, including the federal government investing in building up manufacturing capacity."
    • Dec 4, 2020 (post): "Rashida Jones and I talked to Yuval Noah Harari about COVID conspiracy theories, the role social media plays in spreading misinformation…"
    • Apr 20, 2022 (post): "One of the surprises of the pandemic is how long it took to develop effective treatments—few people thought there would be vaccines before COVID medicines…"
    • Jun 2, 2022 (post): "The greatest medical breakthrough of this pandemic is the creation of COVID-19 vaccines that use mRNA…"
  • In the film: a news report at 00:33:39 quotes his blog post: "Every additional month that it takes to get the vaccine is a month when the economy cannot return to normal" (as quoted in the film). Dr. Sabine Hazan describes a Gates Foundation contact about her HCQ trial (00:36:31, 00:37:02). Hazan paraphrases him (00:40:51): "Bill Gates said vaccine is the best investment I've ever made." (Hazan's paraphrase, not his exact words)

In the film: clips and timecodes

  • 00:14:39 — Narration: "It's recommended by Bill Gates…" (satire) (Narration)
  • 00:25:39 — Bigtree: RECOVERY funded in part by Wellcome and the Gates Foundation (Bigtree)
  • 00:32:29 — Narration: Gates money to UMN ($3.26M) (Narration)
  • 00:33:33–00:33:44 — Narration: "Bill Gates made his wishes abundantly clear…" + news anchor reading his blog post (Narration + news clip (not Gates speaking))
  • 00:36:31 / 00:37:02 — Hazan on the Gates Foundation letter / interest in her trials (Hazan)
  • 00:40:08–00:40:49 — Narration: $100M therapeutics, $6B Gavi, confidential relationships with HCQ trials (Narration)
  • 00:40:51 — Hazan: "Bill Gates said vaccine is the best investment I've ever made." (Hazan paraphrase)
  • 00:47:15 — Gates and Bezos led the $100M Grail round (2016) (Narration)
  • 01:39:41 / 01:40:22 — Quarter billion into news; "poured billions…" (Narration)
  • Full timecodes are in the annotated transcript.

How COVID-era money shows up in the record

  • BioNTech stake: in Sep 2019 the foundation invested $55M in BioNTech (3,038,674 shares at $18.10) for HIV/TB work. Documented (SEC filing and BioNTech release) Sources: BioNTech release, Sep 2019; SEC exhibit
  • HCQ trials (John Davidson's public-records / FOIA release): about 100 pages of Gates Foundation–Boulware emails show Gates staff seeking a "closed and confidential" relationship between the University of Minnesota HCQ trial's data monitoring team and WHO. Gates vaccine lead Peter Dull answered Boulware's Jun 3, 2020 null-result email with "Now the fun begins (continues)." The foundation also contacted Dr. Sabine Hazan about her HCQ trial (film 00:36:31). Documented (via Broken Truth public-records / FOIA release) In Apr 2020 the foundation gave UMN a COVID treatment grant (INV-017069): Documented (Broken Truth reports $3.2M; the film says $3.26M). Gates did not answer Broken Truth's written questions (Jan 28, 2025). What the contact was meant to achieve is Allegation (characterization). Sources: BrokenTruth.com, "Now the fun begins" (Feb 5, 2025), emails downloadable; BrokenTruth.com, questions to the Gates Foundation (Feb 15, 2025); BrokenTruth.com (Dec 19, 2025)
  • The film's figures: "allegedly invested $100 million in COVID therapeutics… over $6 billion going just to Gavi" (00:40:08); "a quarter billion into news and journalism" (01:39:41). Allegation (figures as stated in the film)
  • The film (Bigtree, 00:25:39) says RECOVERY was funded in part by Wellcome and the Gates Foundation. Allegation (the film's claim)

Consequences: notorious events

  • Microsoft board exit and probe (2020–21): Microsoft confirmed that in 2019–20 its board investigated, with outside counsel, a concern that Gates had sought an intimate relationship with an employee in 2000. Gates left the board in Mar 2020 and said that was unrelated. Documented Sources: Reuters, May 17, 2021; WSJ
  • Epstein ties:
    • Aug 2021: he called meeting Epstein "a huge mistake." Documented Source: Washington Post, Aug 5, 2021
    • Jan 2026: DOJ-released Epstein files included Epstein's 2013 draft emails making unverified claims about Gates's private life. Gates denied them as false. Documented (that the documents exist; the content is Allegation (unverified)) Sources: NYT, Jan 30, 2026; Snopes
    • Feb 2026: the Gates Foundation denied making any payments to Epstein. Documented Source: Reuters, Feb 11, 2026
    • Jun 10, 2026: he testified voluntarily to the House Oversight Committee about his 2011–14 Epstein contacts. He called the association a major mistake, said Epstein tried to pressure him using knowledge of his affairs, and denied being blackmailed. Documented (transcript released) Sources: House Oversight transcript release; Gates's statement; AP
    • Jul 2026: an external review found about 30 meetings between Epstein and foundation staff, Gates included, from 2011–14. It found no evidence of criminal conduct or that the foundation knew of the trafficking. Documented (reporting) Source: Guardian, Jul 21, 2026
  • No lawsuit or charge against Gates related to COVID was found. Documented (absence as of Nov 2, 2026 ET)

Where is he now

  • Chair of the Gates Foundation, which announced in 2025 that it will spend down and close by 2045. Documented Source: Gates Foundation, May 8, 2025
  • Still active on X (@BillGates).

Top sources

Last reviewed November 2026 (research pass Nov. 2–3, 2026). This profile is updated as new records surface. Corrections: Press@EpidemicOfFraud.com

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