Bill Gates keeps tight control of his public image. Epstein is threatening it.

Just like many other celebrities, Bill Gates has a stylist. His sweaters, button-downs and glasses are meant to portray someone calm and approachable, current and former employees say. His clothing choices show how carefully he's crafted an image as a global philanthropist, in the decades since co-founding Microsoft. But maintaining Gates’s image has become more difficult, due to persistent inquiries about his relationship with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. That relationship is also affecting his major philanthropic efforts with the Seattle-based Gates Foundation.Reporter Emily Glazer investigated the mounting backlash against Bill Gates over revelations in the Epstein files and the ways Gates’s team has tried to manage his image.Guest Emily Glazer, enterprise reporter at The Wall Street Journal Related Links Bill Gates Spent Years Crafting His Image. Now It’s Cracking. - The Wall Street JournalBill Gates Apologizes to Foundation Staff Over Epstein Ties - The Wall Street Journal Thank you to the supporters of KUOW, you help make this show possible! Right now, we're asking for listeners to give us a full review of the show. Tell us where we could improve, or what you've enjoyed at kuow.org/feedback. Also, if you want to help out, go to kuow.org/donate/soundsidenotes Soundside is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.