The Gates Foundation is planning to cut jobs as it open investigation into sex offender Jeffery Epstein links.
As per The Wall Street Journal report the foundation will cut over 500 jobs, 20%, as they launched external investigation to review foundation and co-founder Bill Gates ties with Epstein.
The foundation, which provides billions of dollars in charitable donations, said in a statement Tuesday, April 21, that it has “commissioned an external review to assess past foundation engagement with Epstein” and is examining its policies for “vetting and developing new philanthropic partnerships,” CNN reported.
Employees of the foundation were informed in March, adding that the review process will be completed in the summer. The firm did not comment if the results of the investigation will be made public.
Epstein-related documents released by the Justice Department, totaling more than 3 million pages, contain numerous emails between Gates and Epstein showing them coordinating meetings and discussing Gates’ philanthropic work.
Gates has reportedly apologized to Foundation staff for his ties to Epstein, calling his relationship with him “a huge mistake,” and has strongly denied the claims of personal wrongdoing, calling them “false.”
Last year, Gates announced that he plans to distribute “virtually all” of his wealth, around $200 billion, he estimates, within the next 20 years, before shuttering the foundation on December 31, 2045.
