Bill Gates to not speak at Microsoft Summit? What we know so far

Bill Gates was reportedly asked not to attend Microsoft’s annual CEO Summit this year as fresh scrutiny over his ties to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues to affect his public standing, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The development marks a significant shift for Gates, who has long been associated with the event and usually hosts a dinner for attendees at his Washington home.

According to WSJ, the setback at Microsoft was part of a wider pattern this year as Gates was also reportedly sidelined from Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting in Omaha and did not deliver a planned keynote at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi in February after his name appeared in the latest Epstein-related files.

Gates has spent years reshaping his image from Microsoft’s combative co-founder into one of the world’s best-known philanthropists. At one point, he was ranked the world’s most admired man in a YouGov survey, ahead of figures such as the Dalai Lama and Pope Francis. However, the Journal reported that this carefully built image has begun to come under strain after the release of documents linked to his ties with Epstein.

While Gates has not been a majority shareholder in Microsoft for some time, the company remains closely tied to his identity as the business he founded with his high school friend Paul Allen. The Journal said that weeks before the CEO Summit in May, Gates’ team was told by Microsoft that it would be better if he did not attend this year. “While it didn’t work out this year, we’ve already extended an invitation for Bill to attend the CEO Summit next year,” a Microsoft spokesperson told the publication.

The report also said Gates did not attend Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting this year, the first time in decades that he missed the event. It said he was not barred from attending, but some people had advised him not to go. The report added that ties between Gates and Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett have also cooled. Buffett had been one of the biggest supporters of the Gates Foundation, pledging annual gifts during his lifetime and serving as a trustee until stepping down in 2021 after Bill and Melinda Gates divorced.

Buffett later told the Journal in 2024 that the Gates Foundation would not receive any money after his death. In a March interview with CNBC, he also said he had not spoken with Gates since the latest batch of Epstein-related files was released and that he wanted to see what more emerged before making his annual decision on giving to the foundation in late June.

The Journal report said this was not the first time Gates had been kept away from a major event this year. He was scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi in February and had already arrived in India for the event. He first went to Vijayawada, then Mumbai, and later travelled to Delhi for the keynote.

However, days before the summit, Gates’ name was removed from the key attendee list on the event website, and Indian government officials confirmed that his invitation was under review after his name appeared in the latest Epstein files. Gates was reportedly staying at the Oberoi hotel in Delhi while waiting to learn whether he should attend a dinner with PM Narendra Modi, French President Emmanuel Macron, and other business leaders and government officials.

His team was later told that it would be better if he did not attend the summit because the heightened news cycle around his Epstein ties would distract from the event’s focus on AI. “After careful consideration, and to ensure the focus remains on the AI Summit’s key priorities, Mr Gates will not be delivering his keynote address,” the Gates Foundation had then said.

The latest report brings together a series of developments that suggest Gates’ presence at major corporate and public events has come under closer scrutiny in recent months, including at Microsoft, Berkshire Hathaway and the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi.