Bill Gates

Gates said he has been talking to world leaders about his concerns, including President Donald Trump and his team in the US, and said he aims to meet China’s President Xi Jinping later this year.

The Microsoft co-founder and billionaire philanthropist told Reuters in an interview that he believes China might agree to restrict potentially dangerous AI model releases if the US took initiative.

The foundation had opened an external review earlier this year into its engagement with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Buffett omitted the Gates Foundation from his annual mid-year donations, instead directing all donations to four family foundations overseen by his daughter Susie and sons Howard and Peter.

Just 10% of respondents in a Reuters/Ipsos poll said the Trump administration had helped efforts to hold people connected to Epstein accountable.

The spokesperson's comments came in response to a Wall Street Journal report, which said that Gates had apologized to staff during the town hall over his ties with Epstein.

"The foundation did not pursue any collaboration with Epstein and no fund was ever created," the organization said in a statement.

“If I actually wanted to spend my time partying with young women, it would be trivial for me to do so without the help of a creepy loser like Epstein,” Musk wrote on X.

The US has officially left the World Health Organization, citing mismanagement during the COVID-19 pandemic, sparking concerns about global health collaboration and future US involvement.

Billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates, professor and political activist Noam Chomsky, and former Trump aide Steve Bannon are also pictured in the latest images.