Jessica Mendoza

He's one of the most influential people in the world.

That's our colleague Emily Glazer, and she's been covering Bill Gates for years.

Tomorrow, Gates is scheduled to appear in a closed-door congressional hearing about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power.

I'm Jessica Mendoza.

It's Tuesday, June 9th.

Coming up on the show, Bill Gates' carefully crafted reputation and how it's unraveling.

For many years, Bill Gates held the title of the world's richest man.

But in the 90s, Microsoft faced several antitrust investigations.

And in the hearings that followed, Gates became known for stridently defending the company.

Here he is responding to questions in a deposition.

After the hearings, Gates stepped down as CEO of Microsoft and turned instead to philanthropy.

In particular, a new nonprofit he'd started with his wife, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The foundation focuses on global health and development, including the fight against childhood mortality and infectious diseases.

Here's Gates talking about the foundation's work on malaria in a TED Talk.

Over the years, the Gates Foundation has grown.

It now has an $89 billion endowment.

There's a certain image of Bill Gates that exists.

And in her reporting, Emily found that this transformation was very much by design.

Gates had stylists come up with a whole look for him, one that's become his signature.