How Jeffrey Epstein pulled Bill Gates and Microsoft into a web of sex, money, and secrets

When Steve Sinofsky abruptly left Microsoft in November of 2012, the departure shocked Silicon Valley. A protégé of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates who had joined the company out of grad school, Sinofsky oversaw the operating system powering over 90% of the world’s computers as president of Windows. He was widely considered the heir apparent to CEO Steve Ballmer.

Microsoft’s share price fell nearly 3% the day after the announcement, wiping billions from the company’s market value. When...