Bill Gates speaks about time spent with Jeffrey Epstein

Billionaire Bill Gates has spoken about his relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates says he shouldn’t have spent time with sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.

His ex-wife Melinda French-Gates revealed after their divorce that she had told her husband he should not associate with Epstein, someone she said was “evil personified”.

An uncomfortable Gates, who is in Australia, was asked by ABC 7:30 host Sarah Ferguson whether he regretted maintaining a relationship with the now dead Epstein “against Melinda’s wishes”.

“I will say for over the 100th time, I shouldn’t have had dinners with him,” he answered.

“I had dinner with him and that‘s all.”

Mr Gates admitted that he "shouldn't" have had dinners with Epstein. Picture: ABC

When pressed on whether he regretted the relationship or “acquaintance” with Epstein, Mr Gates reiterated he regretted that the pair “had dinner”.

Ferguson asked: “Epstein had a way of sexually compromising people, is that what Melinda was warning you about?”

“No. I had dinner with him and that’s all,” Mr Gates replied.

Ms French-Gates told CBS last year that she “did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein”.

A New York Times investigation found that Epstein pitched an idea for a charitable fund to JPMorgan officials and an adviser to Mr Gates that included using the tech billion’s money.

Mr Gates told The Times in the UK that the dinners were a part of efforts to raise money, however, they “didn’t result in what he purported, and I cut them off”.

“At the time, I didn’t realise that by having those meetings it would be seen as giving him credibility. You’re almost saying, ‘I forgive that type of behaviour,’ or something,” Bill Gates told The Times.

“So clearly the way it’s seen, I made a huge mistake not understanding that.”

Mr Epstein was disgraced after he was convicted of sex offences, he died in a New York prison cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Bill and Melinda Gates have continued their charity work with their foundation despite their divorce.

“I expect we’ll continue to work together. My wife, Melinda, does great work. She is an amazing contributor to the work of the Foundation and it benefits from the skillsets we both bring,” he said.

Epstein Epstein was found dead in his New York cell in 2019 while awaiting a sex trafficking trial.

He had been arrested in July that year on federal sex trafficking charges of underage girls.

Mr Gates is spending time in Australia and met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week. Picture: Rhett Wyman / SMH/POOL /NCA NewsWire