New York Times opinion columnist Nicholas Kristof repeatedly promoted Bill Gates in his columns as recently as December 2025, despite the philanthropist's documented association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which the New York Times itself reported on in 2019. Kristof's work often highlighted Gates's global health initiatives while avoiding mention of the Microsoft co-founder's meetings with Epstein, even as the paper's news section covered the relationship extensively.
A Pattern of Omission and Praise
Kristof, a longtime advocate against sex trafficking, wrote about Epstein's exploitation of women in a February 2025 column titled "What Trafficked Girls Think of Jeffrey Epstein and His Pals." The piece did not reference Gates, despite the Times having broken the story of their association six years earlier. This omission occurred while Kristof cited the Gates Foundation as a model for humanitarian work, including in his 2015 book *A Path Appears*, where he claimed the foundation's "investments save lives at a cost of $2,000 each."
The columnist's promotion of Gates spanned multiple platforms. In December 2025, he cited the foundation's data on global child mortality, writing that "the number of children worldwide dying before the age of 5 is believed to have risen, by about 200,000, according to the Gates Foundation." Earlier, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kristof quoted Gates warning that "this virus could be a 'once-in-a-century pandemic,'" without addressing the billionaire's personal controversies.
Fallout and Institutional Response
The Wall Street Journal reported in May 2025 that Gates's "carefully cultivated public image has been shattered" by revelations about his Epstein ties, including testimony that Epstein attempted to blackmail Gates over his infidelities. Gates now calls the association a "grave error of judgment." Meanwhile, Kristof's columns praised the Gateses' marriage in both 2015 and 2019, describing their "pillow talk" about philanthropy and Bill Gates driving his children to school, even after the couple's 2021 separation amid concerns over Epstein.
The New York Times said in a statement to Fox News that "editors from Times Opinion are reviewing" Kristof's columns "to determine further clarifications for readers." The review follows a Washington Free Beacon analysis showing Kristof did not disclose $100,000 in campaign donations from the Gateses during his 2022 Oregon gubernatorial bid. The paper acknowledged that "previous political donations made by some people Nick Kristof mentioned in his columns should have been made more clear to readers."