TerraPower is facing tough questions about the responsibilities of Gates, Myhrvold and Epstein
Employees of nuclear power company TerraPower questioned CEO Chris Levesque on Thursday about communications between convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and company board leaders Bill Gates and Nathan Myhrvold.
Levesque called the ties “a troubling situation” in a town hall meeting with staff, the Seattle Times reported, but said there was no connection between the Bellevue, Wash.-business and Epstein or his money.
Gates, the Microsoft founder and former CEO, and Myhrvold, the former Microsoft CTO, launched TerraPower in 2006 out of Intellectual Ventures, a Bellevue-based company founded by Myhrvold that supports the development of new technologies. Gates is currently the chairman of TerraPower’s corporate board while Myhrvold serves as vice chairman.
At the town hall meeting, an employee asked how women could feel safe and respected if they spoke at future board meetings, the Times reported.
Details of Epstein’s relationships with elected and prominent business leaders were revealed in millions of pages of unsealed court documents that include emails, notes, flight logs, photos and videos and financial records related to the late rapist.
Gates apologized last month to Gates Foundation staff for his dealings with Epstein, admitting in an internal town hall that the situation put the foundation’s international reputation at risk, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Gates met with Epstein several times from 2011 to 2014, years after the financier pleaded guilty to soliciting a child for prostitution, according to a WSJ report.
In a meeting with federal employees, Gates admitted to two outside affairs (with a Russian bridge player and a Russian nuclear physicist) that Epstein later found out through contacts. Gates insisted that he did not participate in or witness any of Epstein’s crimes, the WSJ reported, telling employees, “I did nothing illegal.
Gates has never been accused of wrongdoing by any of Epstein’s victims.
The Seattle Times has reported separately on the intense relationship between Myhrvold and Epstein, including emails showing the two meeting regularly in Seattle and New York from 2010 to 2018, and letters that appear to show Myhrvold visiting Epstein’s private island.
Myhrvold was also listed as a “friend” in Epstein’s 2003 obituary and contributed a personal letter to the project, as GeekWire previously reported.
Myhrvold’s spokesman said he previously knew Epstein “at TED conferences and as a contributor to basic science research” and “regrets ever having met him.”
On Thursday, Levesque admitted, “Some of the news is troubling, but there is also no evidence of any wrongdoing,” the Times reported. “These are things we will continue to work on with our board,” he added.
Contacted by GeekWire, a company spokesperson said via email: “TerraPower has no further comment beyond what was shared directly with employees.”
TerraPower last week became the first company in the nation to receive federal approval to build its next-generation nuclear power plant. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has issued a unanimous decision allowing workers at its Wyoming plant to take significant action.
The company is developing a new model of small, low-cost nuclear reactors that can be produced in three years from prefabricated parts – instead of the previous method of building large structures, which take a decade to set up. The reactors will be able to produce 345 watts of power around the clock, with bursts of energy provided by molten salt batteries.
New energy sources including TerraPower reactors are in high demand as tech giants seek renewable energy to power their data centers and AI operations.
