Bill Gates says he regrets time spent with Jeffrey Epstein

Ex-wife Melinda says questions remain after US releases new Epstein documents

Bill Gates has voiced regret over "every minute" he spent with Jeffrey Epstein, even as the Microsoft co-founder's former wife, Melinda, said he still had questions to answer over his relationship with the convicted sexual offender.

The latest tranche of documents released by the US Justice Department last week contained emails between many prominent figures and Epstein, often revealing warm friendships, illicit financial dealings, and private photos.

In a draft email among the documents, Epstein alleged Gates engaged in extramarital affairs, writing that his relationship with Gates ranged from "helping Bill to get drugs, in order to deal with consequences of sex with Russian girls, to facilitating his illicit trysts with married women."

Read: Epstein documents allege Bill Gates sought STD treatment, claims denied by Gates

"Every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologise," Gates, a billionaire philanthropist, told 9News Australia in an interview broadcast Wednesday.

"That email was never sent. The email is false," he said. "I don't know what his thinking was there. Was he trying to attack me in some way?"

A Gates spokesperson issued a similar denial after the fresh cache of millions of files related to the investigation into Epstein, who died by suicide in prison in 2019, was released.

"The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein's frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame," the spokesperson said.