← The Epstein Chronicles
The Epstein Chronicles
The Epstein Shadow Over Bill Gates’ Philanthropic Empire Sparks Billionaire Revolt
00:17:22
The Giving Pledge—founded by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett—is facing growing backlash as several high-profile billionaires distance themselves from the initiative amid renewed scrutiny over Gates’ past association with Jeffrey...
Loading summary
Transcript3 lines
- [00:01]
A
If you're into tech, you'll love this. TikTok is a live lab where users post instant reviews of the latest trends. Download TikTok and check it out.
- [00:16]
B
Boss. What's the most dreaded question that you can get when you tell people you host a podcast called the Lapsed Fan? Ugh. It's. What is it about? And why is that, do you think? Because to like pro wrestling is to lose the respect of others. Now what if we told you there's a podcast that explains exactly why that is and why it's kind of deserved? For over a decade, we've taken fact finding missions through the thicket of half truths that is wrestling history. We watch old matches, call out carnies, laugh at our own jokes, and have so much fun doing it that some people actually can't handle it. Think wrestling is an escape from real life? Think again. Same power games, same office politics, same people lying to your face. Just with entrance music and absolutely no company health insurance under any circumstances. All I offer is opportunity, not benefits. As do we, Vince. The Lapsed Fan podcast. Come for the wrestling history. Stay for the uncomfortable truth about why it used to be better and why you still care.
- [01:16]
A
What's up, everyone? And welcome to another episode of the Epstein Chronicles. When it comes to Jeffrey Epstein, we've heard every excuse in the book from people who are around them who want to now deny that they were friends with them. But one of the most ridiculous parts of all of it are these billionaires that want to try and tell us that they were around Epstein because he was going to donate to their charity. You really mean to tell me you needed Jeffrey Epstein's money? Bill Gates bro has more money than God. He could fund these projects on his own. But he's reaching out to Jeffrey Epstein because he needs some money for his charity. It was never something that was based in reality. We all knew that there was something else going on there. And of course we've come to find out that the things that Bill Gates has been denying about Jeffrey Epstein have turned out to be true. At least some of them. We know the bridge players true. And we know that there was at least one other affair that Bill Gates was engaged in that was related to Epstein as well. And that doesn't even begin to touch all the other lies that Bill Gates has told over the years about the relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and the nexus of that relationship. And now that the speculation has been proven to be real, a lot of these billionaires that have pledged to do what Bill Gates is doing by Giving away all of his money and shit. Well, they're running for the hills. Nobody wants to be associated with Jeffrey Epstein's buddy, Bill Gates. Not anymore. And in my opinion, it's a long time coming. How does the guy that creates a computer program sit on an ivory tower and tell me about health issues, like, for real? Here's an idea. Make sure that Windows stops crashing. Don't worry about my health. The last thing any of us want or need is some billionaire making pretend he cares about the future of humanity. We all know he doesn't care about humanity and that Bill Gates, like all these other people, cares about Bill Gates. So today we have an article from the the New York Post, and the headline, billionaires Bolt from Bill Gates Scandal Scarred giving pledge, as critics brand it Epstein Adjacent. This article was authored by Ariel Zilber. The Bill Gates Back campaign urging billionaires to donate most of their fortunes to good causes is reportedly facing backlash as tech moguls mock the philanthropy club. And Gates recently revealed ties to late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continue to shadow the initiative. Well, it was probably Epstein's idea. All right, maybe that's a little too far, but you get the drift, right? Nobody wants the scent of Jeffrey Epstein on them. Nobody. And that should tell you everything you need to know. And it's also disgusting how the legacy media has. Has largely forgot about the story. All they want to talk about is Iran. And look, I've been trying to tell you for a long time that the legacy media, they only care about this story when it's driving clicks, right? When it's running engagement. But when that goes away, so does their interest. It's all about profiting for a lot of people. So when the next disaster pops up, everybody just becomes an expert about that topic. But when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein, even though this story is not the number one story right now due to the war in Iran, it's not going away. And roughly 50% of people in America, according to a new poll, think that the war in Iran was started to cover up for these files. And I think that that is pretty reflective from what I'm hearing from people out there who think that all of this is nothing more than Donald Trump wagging the dog. And look very possible. I'm not gonna sit here and tell you it's not. But I'm also not gonna sit here and tell you that that's for sure what's going on, because I don't have that kind of information. And I respect all of you too much. To bullshit you. I'm not here to drive engagement. I'm not here to get a fat ass paycheck from insert sponsor here. I'm here to drive this story home and hopefully open up a few doors for people who might otherwise not have had access to the story. And in my opinion, I don't think that anything else can be dealt with until we deal with this. This is the rot that is infecting the actual heart of America and it needs to be dealt with one way or the other. And I don't care what kind of distractions they throw up. Whether it's a war, an alien ship approaching Earth, whatever, I don't care. This is what we're going to talk about on this podcast. Because when I tell you that those boats have been burned on the beach, I mean it. There is no going back for me. Critics like Peter Thiel, who is not a signatory, have derided the Giving Pledge initiative as an Epstein adjacent fake boomers club and privately urge fellow billionaires, including Elon Musk, to abandon the pledge, according to the New York Times. Well, that's pretty funny. Peter Thiel is calling somebody else Epstein adjacent. Breaking news. You're all Epstein adjacent stupid. And it all plays into their nonsense. Whenever they think they can weaponize Epstein against an enemy, they most certainly will. But when they think that the weaponization is harmful to them or their narrative, oh, it's just a big hoax. And I'm getting tired of that too. Deal told Musk he should pull out of the initiative because his money would go to left wing nonprofits that will be chosen by Bill Gates. The Times reported, citing a recent speech that Thill gave. Now, look, I'm certainly not giving my money to Bill Gates. And if I was some kind of billionaire, I. I'd be the shepherd of that money. I'd be deciding where it was going to go. And frankly, if I wanted to give it away, I go to the neighborhoods I grew up in and I go door too. And I'd give that money away to the people. Not to some big ass corporation or some big ass 5013C or whatever. They're just going to waste the money. I go right back to my neighborhoods in South Yonkers, the, the South Bronx and East Las Vegas, and I'd give that money to the people directly. The difference between me and Bill Gates though, is that Bill Gates didn't grow up poor. But the point still stands. Give it to the people directly. Why do you want to give it to these corporations or these charities where Only pennies on the dollar end up in the hands of the people that need it the most. So I've always said that if I ever get a bag, if I ever become rich, that's what I'm gonna do. I'll go to my local Walmart and pay layaway for people and just boogie out without anybody knowing it was me. Or like hospital bills, right? Go to the hospital, find out who's in dereliction and just pay those bills. If you want to help people and you want to help the most vulnerable amongst us, that's how you do it. Giving it to charities so they can do whatever they want with it. Zero chance. Gates has come under fire in recent weeks as after he admitted to cheating on his then wife, Melinda French Gates, with two Russian women that he met through the late Jeffrey Epstein. And he lied about it. So if you lied about that, what else is he lying about? I keep saying this all the time and I'll continue to say it. When you show me and tell me who you are, I'm gonna believe you. Because when I meet somebody, I go into that introduction thinking that the person's a decent person, right? I always give everybody enough rope to hang themselves. But when you're out here lying and bullshitting and telling me you have no idea who Jeffrey Epstein is and that you guys only had a cup of coffee together and talked about philanthropy, and then we find out it's something different. Well, my friend, you are now on the clock. And what was speculation previously has now been confirmed. The pledge has also drawn criticism from some tech investors who argue that modern philanthropy has intertwined with progressive politics. Well, there's no doubt about that. A lot of these organizations are nothing more than money laundering foundations. And people like Jeffrey Epstein and people like Bill Gates, they wrap themselves in philanthropy and use it as armor so that later on down the road when they get nailed, they can be like, oh, look what I did for humanity. I'm such a great person. I donated so much money. I would never do this. Unfortunately for them, we're on to their. And that shield of armor that they've had previously when it comes to philanthropy, that's been pierced. So I don't care how much money you give or how many righteous causes you champion, because it's all fugazi. You don't really believe in that. You don't really feel that way. You're just trying to buy credibility. You're just trying to shift the narrative. You're just trying to make yourself out to be the good guy. When in reality, all these people are the true villains. Critics say that many of the nonprofits and foundations favored by major donors, the particularly those tied to global health climate initiatives and diversity programs, reflect left leaning priorities, fueling claims. That Giving Pledge has become associated with woke causes rather than political neutral charity. And this is what I'm talking about. Why would you want your money to be managed by somebody else? Shouldn't you just take that money and put it to a cause that's close to your heart, something that you want to help out with, something you think you can make a difference with? That seems like the way to go. Venture capitalist Mark Andreessen has argued that philanthropy once functioned as kind of a reputational bargain for billionaires, allowing them to wash away all your sins and be recast as virtuous donors. Since then, however, the social contract has broken down as criticism of the tech sector has intensified. Well, here's an idea. Stop diddling kids and supporting people that do. Oh wo is me. Nobody's buying our anymore W Go spend your billions and shut up. But you're not going to blackmail the American people anymore with your financial givings. And you're certainly not going to change the narrative. We know what you people are. And the rest of the world, well, they're waking up to it as well. Brian Armstrong, the billionaire founder of Coinbase, quietly exited the initiative in 2024, removing his name from the pledge's website five years after signing on, the Times reported. Even some of the early supporters are said to be rethinking their commitments. Larry Ellison, the Oracle co founder and one of the original signatories, said last year that he was amending his pledge to focus more heavily on for profit research ventures, the Times reported. Now, he'll tell you because this is a financial decision, but the truth is, he knows that doing this charity isn't going to provide him the COVID that it used to. So he's out. That's it. Moving on to something different. Everything's a hustle to these people. You have to understand, everything's a transaction. And you and I, well, we're the currency. Critics have argued the Undertaking lacks teeth, noting it carries no enforcement mechanism and does not track how much money signatories actually donate, allowing billionaires to fulfill the promise decades later through their estates. Yeah, after everybody got their dough. Folks, it's all a hustle. And this is what I'm trying to tell you all the time. All these really rich people, they don't care about you. None of them do. Once you get to that level, it's all about profit. That's it. And everything is a means that justifies the end. Skeptics also note that much of the pledge wealth is routed into private foundations or donor advised funds, vehicles that can allow billions to sit for years before reaching operating charities, the Times reported. Just like I was saying earlier, take the money to the people, give it to them directly. The kind of that crime bosses do, right? Oh, it's Thanksgiving, let's give out turkeys in the neighborhood. But no, these people aren't even that smart. They really think that everybody's so stupid that we're just going to go along with their nonsense and their narrative and think they're these great guys and gals because they're donating money. And that's because for years and years that's how the game was played. Do whatever you want as a degenerate, then donate some money and it wipes all the sins away. Taryn Jensen, the interim head of the Giving Pledge, defended the initiative, telling the Post in a statement that debate over philanthropy is inevitable and welcome and noting the campaign now includes more than 250 donors of across 30 countries, many of whom have already met their commitments or are steadily working toward them. Jensen added, the goal is to keep building a culture where giving is the norm while helping signatories turn their pledges into actions. Such a hustle. We're giving the norm to other organizations whose board members, by the way, are friends with these billionaires. Talk about a circular System. Launched in 2010 by Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffett, the pledge asked the world's wealthiest people to commit to giving away the majority of their fortunes to charity, either during their lifetimes or after death. Imagine being the kid of one of these dudes and you hear that your fortune is being given away. Thanks, dad. Appreciate you, buddy. Bill Gates has said Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges, was one of the factors behind his split from his wife of 27 years. Gates has acknowledged meeting Epstein several times after the latter's 2008 conviction for soliciting sex from a minor, saying he regretted the encounters. Oh yeah, he regretted it so much that he continued to do it. He regretted it so much that he had Epstein hook him up with women. Does anyone really believe Bill Gates, bro, your wife divorced you because you were hanging out with Captain Diddle supreme, but the rest of us should just forgive you. Frenchgate stepped away from the foundation they that administers the giving pledge in 2024, three years after the divorce. I firmly believe in the Giving Pledge and consider it quite a success, though my physical limitations have eliminated my participation in the annual get together, the 95 year old Buffett, who recently stepped down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, told the Times. I've continued to contact possible members, but only on a minor scale. In recent years, Bill Gates has continued major efforts. French Gates has acknowledged that the results of the pledge have been uneven. She recently told Wired that some participants have donated at a massive scale, while others have moved more slowly. Wait a minute. We're shocked that billionaires are bullshitting and they're going back on their pledges. Well, who would have thought that the smarmy ass bankers and the smarmy ass rich people are gonna be smarmy? Some are doing it and some are trying or aren't ready to, she said. Frenchgates added that the initiative has not progressed as far as she once hoped. I wish we had been even more successful with the pledge than we have been to date, she said. It's a problem to continue working on. The post is saw comment from Gaetz, French Gates, Thiel, Ellison, Armstrong and Buffett. You know, Bill Gates is his own worst enemy here. He should have just been honest from the very beginning about Jeffrey Epstein. Yeah, I asked him for some money and yes, he did introduce me to a couple of women, but everything was consensual. You know, something along those lines. But no, Bill Gates had to continue to lie, had to deny, had to obfuscate instead of just being a man and owning up. And of course that's now leading to these people bouncing from the the initiative. But at the end of the day, does it really matter to Bill Gates? Is it going to affect him financially? Is it going to affect him at all? It's not. And that's because consequences are only for people like you and me, never for people like Bill Gates. All the information that goes with this episode can be found in the description box.