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Topics: Bill Gates, Celebrity, Elon Musk, Jeffrey Epstein
Gerrard Kaonga
Topics: Bill Gates, Celebrity, Elon Musk, Jeffrey Epstein
Elon Musk didn’t hold back when he was asked about recent criticism from Bill Gates.
It seems Bill Gates and Elon Musk have been clashing a lot recently, with both men taking shots at one another in a bizarre battle of the billionaires.
Earlier this month, the Microsoft founder accused Musk of ‘killing the world’s poorest children’ through his work with Donald Trump’s administration in DOGE.
One of the most notable actions of the Department of Government Efficiency made was the shrinking of multiple departments, including those involved in foreign aid initiatives.
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Well, Gates took particular issue with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) being shut down, and called out Musk for dubbing it a 'criminal organization', and that it was 'time for it to die'.
USAID had around 10,000 staff and was the world's largest single donor of humanitarian aid, having spent over $40 million across the world in the fiscal year 2023.
Speaking to the Financial Times, Gates said: "The picture of the world’s richest man killing the world’s poorest children is not a pretty one.
“I’d love for him to go in and meet the children that have now been infected with HIV because he cut that money.”
Speaking virtually at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday (May 20), Musk has now firmly hit back at Gates for his comments.
He said: “Who does Bill Gates think he is to make comments about the welfare of children, given that he frequented Jeffrey Epstein?
“I wouldn’t want that guy to babysit my kids.”
Gates has previously admitted that he regrets his relationship with the convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Gates met with Epstein on multiple occasions, with at least three taking place at Epstein's Manhattan townhouse beginning in 2011, according to a New York Times report.
In an interview published at the beginning of 2025, Gates reiterated his regret over ever being connected with Epstein.
He said: “He sort of got time with various people by spending time with other people.
“So yes, I think I was quite stupid. I thought it would help me with global health philanthropy. In fact, it failed to do that and it was just a huge mistake."
A spokesperson for Gates has echoed these sentiments when they told PEOPLE: "Mr. Gates met with Epstein solely for philanthropic purposes. Having failed repeatedly to draw Mr. Gates beyond these matters, Epstein tried unsuccessfully to leverage a past relationship to threaten Mr. Gates.”