Bill Gates opened up about his messy divorce at the exclusive Allen & Co. “summer camp for billionaires” last week in an “emotional” session that one attendee said had the Microsoft founder on the verge of tears.
During an “off the record” Q&A session that followed Gate’s talk on climate change, CNBC host Becky Quick asked the billionaire about his divorce from Melinda, his wife of 27 years, and the future of the Gates Foundation.
“He fessed up to messing up,” an attendee said. “He basically referred to the fact that it [the divorce] was his fault.”
“He did seem a bit emotional about it,” the attendee added. “He might have been on the verge of tears.”
Gates did not use the word “affair” when discussing the end of his marriage, the attendee said of the session, which another attendee described as “very moving.”
Not all attendees were impressed with Gate’s overall attitude, however, with one guest saying the legendary tech tycoon appeared “agitated” throughout his stay and brushed off other attendees who tried to come up and talk to him.
“Bill Gates was pretty much a total a**hole,” the attendee said.
Sources also said that Quick failed to bring up another elephant in the room — Gates’ reported friendship with dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
The scandal-plagued Microsoft co-founder made the comments after arriving at the exclusive Sun Valley, Idaho, conference late to attend an exclusive dinner hosted by former Allen & Co. President Herb Allen, breaking bread Thursday night with heavy hitters including Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, sources said.
Gates was also seen walking and talking with Zuckerberg on Thursday, Variety reported. The next day, Gates gave a talk on climate change before opening up about his divorce.
On Friday, Gates ate dinner next to the geneticist Cynthia Kenyon, who works as vice president of aging research at Alphabet’s biotechnology company Calico, a source said.
Gates was also caught by a paparazzo taking a walk with Evan Greenberg, president and CEO of insurance giant Chubb Limited.
Microsoft and the The Gates Foundation directed requests for comment to the billionaire’s investment firm Gates Ventures, which declined to comment.