Bill Gates made donations to MIT through Jeffrey Epstein -here are all of the tech mogul's connections to the financier

Two days before his death, Epstein signed a last will and testament that named one of Gates' closest connections as alternate executor of his estate, if his longtime lawyers were not able to carry out their duties.

Bloomberg reported that Boris Nikolic, an immunologist and biotech entrepreneur who formerly served as Gates' chief scientific adviser until 2014, was "shocked" to see he was named alternate executor by Epstein.

"I was not consulted in these matters and I have no intent to fulfill these duties, whatsoever," he said in a statement obtained by Bloomberg. His spokesperson also says Epstein never invested in Nikolic's funds or had any business dealings with him.

Similarly, the spokesperson for the Gates Foundation told Business Insider that "Epstein never provided tax or estate services to Bill Gates."

Gates' spokespeople have not denied that the two met, as CNBC reported they did multiple times before Epstein's death, including at one point in New York in 2013, when Gates was still the chairman of Microsoft.

"Bill attended a meeting in New York with others focused on philanthropy. While Epstein was present, he never provided services of any type to Bill," the Gates Foundation spokesperson told Business Insider.

The meeting apparently preceded a flight Gates took on one of Epstein's private planes to Palm Beach, Florida, where the financier was a registered sex offender. Gates is listed on the flight logs of one of Epstein's planes as having taken a trip from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, where Epstein was arrested in July, to Palm Beach on March 1, 2013.

The social scientist and psychologist Steven Pinker has been pictured seated next to Epstein at a dinner before, and joins a long list of influential scientists and researchers who had ties to the convicted sex offender. Pinker also flew on Epstein's private plane that was nicknamed the "Lolita Express," since his accusers testified that they were sex trafficked on it.

Pinker is Gates' favorite author, and the multi-billionaire helped propel of the scientist's writing to commercial success.

Given that Epstein surrounded himself with people who were renowned for their intelligence, along with their bank accounts and social standing, it's no surprise that he and Gates ran in the same circles or had meetings with each other in the room.

Of course, at the times he encountered Gates, he was convicted pedophile, but as the last few years of his life illustrated, that never stopped Epstein from living lavishly and wielding his power and influence. The emails obtained by The New Yorker suggest there may have been an even closer connection between the two than previously known.