Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates told the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday that his meeting with disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was a "grave error in judgment." 

"His behavior was antithetical to all my efforts to contribute to a world where everyone has a chance to live a healthy and productive life. If the time I spent with Epstein lent him any credibility, I am deeply sorry," Gates said in his prepared remarks.

Gates' meeting with the committee was a closed-door interview, but he posted his opening statement to his website. 

The Microsoft billionaire said that he never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in any criminal behavior. He never went to Epstein's island, ranch or his Florida home, Gates said. 

"While he may have sought to foster a personal relationship, I was never interested in that and never reciprocated," Gates said. 

He met Epstein in 2011 and the financier told Gates he could raise billions of dollars to help with global health initiatives from people he provided tax and estate services to. He was aware that Epstein faced legal issues, Gates said, but he didn't fully understand the extent of the crimes he was accused of committing.  

He had five meetings total with Epstein in 2011 and 2012, followed by "more extensive conversations" in 2013 and 2014. All the discussions, according to Gates, involved ways in which Epstein could raise money to support Gates' global health and education initiatives. 

"I made it clear to Epstein from the outset that he would never play a role in any of the work or receive any compensation," Gates said. 

By 2014, he realized that efforts toward meaningful philanthropic work were at a dead-end, as no one in the group Epstein presented to Gates was interested in moving forward. Their interactions ended in December 2014, Gates said. 

Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., asked Gates in March to meet behind closed doors because he might "have information that will assist" in the committee's investigation of Epstein, who died in detention in 2019 while awaiting trial on additional federal charges related to sex crimes. He was associated with some of the world's most powerful men.  

Outside the meeting on Wednesday, Gates said he was glad to be meeting with the committee voluntarily to help with the committee's work. 

"I hope my testimony is helpful to the important work of the committee to find justice for the victims," Gates told the Associated Press.