Bill Gates courted Jeffrey Epstein in the twisted belief the well-connected pedophile could help him get a Nobel Peace Prize, a former staffer claimed, according to a report Tuesday. The Microsoft billionaire horrified staff with the meetings, which started in 2011 — when Epstein was already a convicted pedophile — and which reportedly left Gate’s wife Melinda so disturbed it helped drive the couple to divorce. When his foundation’s PR team was first alerted to the friendship they were told it “was a maneuver to try to get himself a Nobel Peace Prize,” an anonymous foundation employee told The Daily Beast. As well as staying at the multi-millionaire pervert’s Upper East Side mansion, Gates joined Epstein in a trip to Europe in March 2013, according to Dagens Næringsliv, Norway’s largest business newspaper. The pair visited the Strasbourg home of Thorbjorn Jagland, who at the time was chair of the committee which awards the Peace Prize, the paper noted, saying Gates was being touted as a recipient at the time. #BillGates The New York Post is your source for breaking news, news about New York, sports, business, entertainment, opinion, real estate, culture, fashion, and more. Catch the latest news here: https://nypost.com/ Follow The New York Post on: Twitter - https://twitter.com/nypost Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/NYPost