Jeffrey Epstein’s Web of Influence
How the notorious sex offender built a sprawling international network of the rich and powerful.
Jeffrey Epstein’s emails, appointment books and message logs reveal how the disgraced financier built a sprawling web of rich, powerful and influential contacts. He was a relentless networker, regularly introducing his acquaintances to each other and treating those interactions like business deals — always putting himself at the center of the transaction.
Watch: How Jeffrey Epstein Spun His Web of Influence
Some of Epstein’s connections helped make him wealthy, while others fed his desire for intellectual status. The people in his network sought his advice on everything from school admissions to interactions with women.
Their exchanges, many detailed among the Epstein-related documents released by the US Department of Justice, often blurred the lines between the professional and personal, with some acquaintances traveling to his Caribbean island, accepting expensive gifts or attending dinners at his infamous Upper East Side mansion.
A connection to Epstein or appearance in the files is not evidence of a crime or a suggestion of wrongdoing. Bloomberg News contacted people included in this article for comment. Their responses, or decision not to respond, are included throughout the text below or can be found here.
An Expanding Network
Epstein’s network relied on a constant stream of communication — sometimes thousands of emails and messages — with a group of business and personal contacts. Many of them knew each other, and circles of influence often overlapped as Epstein expanded his orbit to reach influential figures in finance, politics, law and academia.
Many of the people whom Epstein associated with have faced repercussions related to their links to him, even as they deny wrongdoing or knowledge of his alleged crimes.
Some have resigned from prominent positions, others are under investigation by local authorities. The consequences have reverberated from US university professors to a former UK prince, along with several of Norway’s political elite as well as international businessmen.
Ghislaine Maxwell
British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell has said she met Epstein in 1991 through a friend. They had a brief romantic relationship but she stayed on his payroll as a property manager, overseeing his portfolio of multimillion-dollar homes as well as the staff who ran them.
From the late 1980s through the early 2000s, Maxwell and Epstein’s social circle sometimes included Donald Trump. There are photos of the now-president with Epstein at events, including at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.
Trump has said he cut off contact with Epstein many years before the financier’s death, and well before Epstein’s first arrest and 2008 plea deal.
In November 2025, Trump signed legislation to compel the Department of Justice to publish the Epstein files.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has said that the president kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago because “frankly, Epstein was a creep.”
In 2021, Maxwell was found guilty of engaging in a sex-trafficking scheme with Epstein. Four women testified that Maxwell enticed them into Epstein’s orbit for abuse when some were as young as 13.
Maxwell has denied knowledge of Epstein’s activities in sworn depositions. The US Supreme Court last year rejected a bid to overturn her conviction.
The relationship between French model agent Jean-Luc Brunel and Epstein is documented as far back as 2002, when flight logs place Brunel on Epstein’s plane. Jail logs show Brunel visited Epstein while he was serving a 13-month sentence in Florida for procuring an underage girl for prostitution.
Brunel housed models in Epstein’s Manhattan apartments, according to a sworn deposition by a former bookkeeper for his model agency, who also said that Epstein paid for visas to bring women and girls into the country via the agency.
In 2020, Brunel was charged with rape and sexual harassment. He was found dead in a Paris prison in 2022. French authorities are revisiting their file on Brunel.
Leslie Wexner
Leslie Wexner was introduced to Epstein in the 1980s by a mutual acquaintance. The billionaire founder of L Brands Inc. gave Epstein vast amounts of power over his wealth. Wexner made Epstein his money manager, gave him power-of-attorney and designated him as trustee over trusts and foundations.
Their connection predates many of Epstein’s most prominent public relationships, and Wexner doesn’t appear to have interacted much with Epstein’s wider social circle. Still, he had a crucial role in how Epstein built his early wealth.
The Victoria’s Secret titan also sold Epstein his Manhattan townhouse. Wexner said he cut ties with Epstein after discovering in 2007 he had stolen money from him and his family. Wexner said in a 2026 deposition that he had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activity.
A spokesperson for Wexner declined to comment.
Leon Black
Apollo Global Management Inc. co-founder Leon Black paid Epstein at least $158 million — which Black says was mostly for estate planning and tax advice — between 2012 and 2017.
Emails show that Epstein was also deeply enmeshed in Black’s financial and personal lives. He was a fixer for the billionaire’s secrets, helping to manage an angry mistress, IRS questions about gifts to another woman and more.
Black has repeatedly expressed regret about his relationship with Epstein, and an independent report commissioned by Apollo’s board found he had no awareness of the criminal activities that led to Epstein’s arrest in 2019.
Brad Karp, the former chairman of Paul Weiss, was a lawyer for Black. He also negotiated a fee dispute between Black and Epstein. Karp attended dinners at Epstein’s Manhattan home, and asked Epstein if he could arrange work for his son on a Woody Allen film.
Over the years, Epstein extolled Karp’s prowess to Bill Gates, Steve Bannon and Larry Summers. Karp stepped down as chairman of Paul Weiss, but remains at the law firm as a partner.
Black stepped down as Apollo’s CEO in 2021 after the extent of his dealings with Epstein were revealed, and resigned from the board a month later.
Epstein also connected Black to Leon Botstein, the Bard College president who has said he cultivated a relationship with Epstein as a prospective college donor. Black also gave money to Bard.
A report by an outside law firm for the Bard board of trustees found that Botstein did nothing illegal, but “was not fully accurate in describing his relationship with Epstein.”
Botstein is retiring from the Bard presidency in June after 51 years in the role, and has said it had been his intention to retire and focus on being a faculty member, teacher and musician.
The Dubins
Epstein’s former girlfriend Eva Andersson-Dubin and her husband, billionaire hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin, vouched for Epstein and helped open doors for him to continue to build his wealth.
Epstein and Andersson-Dubin dated in the 1980s, and he stayed close with the family, describing himself as a godfather to one of their children.
Epstein invested in Highbridge Capital Management, the alternative-asset manager co-founded by Glenn Dubin. The Dubins also connected him to hedge fund managers including Daniel Zwirn and David Fiszel, both of whom he invested money with.
Between 2010 and 2016, Epstein discussed donating at least $400,000 to the Mount Sinai hospital network, where Andersson-Dubin founded a breast cancer treatment center. Epstein sought Andersson-Dubin’s help with positions at the hospital for women in his orbit and a US medical visa for his girlfriend’s mother.
The Dubins have said they had no knowledge of Epstein’s “vile and unspeakable conduct” and would have cut ties with him had they been aware.
Jes Staley
In the early 2000s, the head of JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s private bank, Jes Staley, met Epstein, beginning a professional and personal relationship that lasted more than a decade. In 2004, Staley led JPMorgan’s investment in Highbridge, co-founded by Glenn Dubin, citing a relationship with Epstein.
Staley and Epstein stayed in touch while Epstein was incarcerated in Florida. Later, Epstein helped broker meetings for Staley with Peter Mandelson, then a UK cabinet minister, and in 2012 Epstein messaged Ian Osborne about an attempt to get Staley appointed as CEO of Barclays. It didn’t work out, but Staley got the job when it became available three years later.
Staley’s attempts to downplay his dealings with Epstein ended his career at Barclays in 2021. In 2023, he was fined £1.8 million ($2.4 million) — later cut to £1.1 million — by the Financial Conduct Authority and banned from holding senior roles in the financial services industry. In 2025, Staley admitted in court he’d had sex with one of Epstein’s staff at an apartment in New York. In March of this year, his wife filed for divorce.
A representative for Staley didn’t respond to requests for comment. Staley has consistently denied having any knowledge of or involvement in Epstein’s crimes.
The UK Connection
Messages between Peter Mandelson and Epstein appear as early as 2005, when Mandelson was the European commissioner for trade. Over the years, he sought Epstein’s advice on political and financial matters, and shared insight into UK government policy and personnel.
Epstein linked Mandelson with figures in finance and business including Jes Staley. The correspondence placed both men in overlapping social circles that included Ghislaine Maxwell and former UK Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
UK police arrested Mandelson in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was released without charges and remains under investigation. A representative for Mandelson didn’t respond to requests for comment. His lawyers have said previously that his priority is to cooperate with the investigation and clear his name. Mandelson has apologized for continuing the association after Epstein’s 2008 conviction in Florida.
Mountbatten-Windsor maintained a relationship with Epstein for years. He paid a financial settlement to end a civil action in the US brought by Virginia Giuffre, an Epstein victim who alleged that she was forced to have sex with the former prince as a teenager. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was released without charges and remains under investigation. King Charles III last year stripped him of his royal titles.
Sultan bin Sulayem
Emails show Dubai businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem corresponded with Epstein for more than a decade, exchanging contacts in business and politics, attempting to broker deals for one another and making explicit references to sexual encounters.
One of their mutual contacts was Andrew Farkas, a New York real estate investor and scion of the family behind Alexander’s department store.
Epstein also attempted to engineer a get together between bin Sulayem and Tom Pritzker, the billionaire heir and chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corp., though it’s unclear if the meeting ever happened. Their correspondence also mentions Jes Staley, Peter Mandelson — who remained in contact with bin Sulayem for years — as well as Ehud Barak and Steve Bannon, each of whom exchanged multiple messages with Epstein.
In 2017, bin Sulayem sent Epstein contact details for Indian businessman Anil Ambani. Epstein’s messages with Ambani stretch through 2019 and show the men talked about world affairs, business and women, and made plans to meet in person.
Kathy Ruemmler
The DOJ documents show interactions between lawyer Kathy Ruemmler and Epstein between 2014 and 2019, during which she offered her perspective in a number of scenarios and advised on strategies for defending his reputation in the media. She also accepted tens of thousands of dollars in gifts from him and used nicknames like “Uncle Jeffrey.”
Ruemmler is leaving her position as Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s top lawyer on June 30. The bank, where she has worked since 2020, has said executives were briefed about her dealings with Epstein before she was hired, and that the two worked together in a professional capacity.
A spokesperson for Ruemmler said she knew Epstein through her work as a defense attorney, shared a client with and received referrals from him, and was friendly in that professional context. She has denied having any knowledge of his criminal activity.
Among the gifts that Epstein gave Ruemmler were appointments at the Frederic Fekkai salon in Manhattan.
Maxwell has described Fekkai and Epstein as “friendly, very friendly” during the 2000s. The stylist appears among Epstein’s social circle, attending dinners and birthday celebrations, asking to use Epstein’s massage room and flying on his plane.
Epstein arranged salon visits for people across his orbit, including his girlfriend Karyna Shuliak, his urologist and multiple others whose names were redacted in the files. Payments to Fekkai’s salon, and another in Palm Beach, span more than 15 years.
The Norwegians
Norwegian diplomat Terje Rød-Larsen connected Epstein with dignitaries, bankers and politicians when at the helm of the International Peace Institute, the files suggest. Trips were planned for him to Epstein’s island and to Bermuda. His wife, Mona Juul, is the former Norwegian ambassador to the UK, Israel and the United Nations.
Epstein bequeathed the couple’s two children $5 million each in his will. Their son, Edward Juul Rød-Larsen, died by suicide in April 2026.
Norway’s authority for economic crime is investigating Juul and Rød-Larsen over their ties with Epstein. Both have denied the allegations via lawyers.
Former Norwegian Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland is being investigated over whether he received gifts and loans as well as paid travel from Epstein. Crown Princess Mette-Marit, wife of the future king of Norway, issued a public apology over her chummy relations with Epstein. Børge Brende, a former foreign minister of Norway, stepped down as CEO of the World Economic Forum after it emerged he had ties with Epstein.
Larry Summers
Epstein donated to Harvard University during Larry Summers’ tenure as president of the school, including a $6.5 million gift in 2003 to a program led by Professor Martin Nowak. He also supported the work of Summers’ wife and Harvard professor emerita Elisa New, and donated to the Hasty Pudding Institute — chaired by another Epstein contact, Andrew Farkas — for years.
Harvard University has said it didn’t accept gifts from Epstein after his 2008 conviction.
iMessages between Summers and Epstein from as recently as 2019 appear in the DOJ files, including Summers talking about being “ghosted” by a woman. Harvard has said it is reviewing the most recently released Epstein documents. Summers has stepped down from public commitments, including retiring from his professorship. Arizona State University, where New most recently worked, reportedly cut ties with her last year. Nowak was placed on paid administrative leave in February.
Former President Bill Clinton said in a 2026 deposition that Summers, his one-time Treasury secretary, introduced him to Epstein. Clinton said he flew on Epstein’s plane in 2002 and 2003 to speak with Epstein about economics and politics. Photos among the files also show Clinton swimming with Ghislaine Maxwell.
In a separate deposition, Hillary Clinton said she never met Epstein. She said she met Maxwell a few times, and described her as a “casual acquaintance.”
The Tech Contingent
Epstein spent years courting Bill Gates, including inviting Gates to his island, though Gates has said he never went. Boris Nikolic, a longtime science adviser to Gates, appears to have acted as an attempted conduit between Gates and Epstein from about 2011 to 2014. Nikolic and Epstein’s messages include the exchange of nude photography, notes on women and discussion of Gates’ preferences and prospects with them.
In December 2014, separate messages mention a breakfast with Gates, as well as LinkedIn Corp. co-founder Reid Hoffman. Hoffman met Epstein through fundraising work with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They exchanged gifts and Hoffman stayed on Epstein’s Caribbean island and at his NYC house.
Hoffman also hosted Epstein at a dinner with Peter Thiel and Elon Musk. Thiel advised Epstein on investments, including buying private Palantir Technologies shares and putting money into his fund, Valar Ventures.
In 2013, Epstein, Musk and their assistants communicated about a tour of SpaceX’s headquarters. Epstein tried to bring three foreign “girls” with him, but emails suggest they weren’t cleared for the tour.
Columbia University
Epstein started messaging Karyna Shuliak, a dental student in Minsk, Belarus, around 2010. She later moved to the US and was his girlfriend until his death.
In 2011, Epstein’s staff started messaging professors at Columbia Dental School about Shuliak, some via introductions by Manhattan dentist Thomas Magnani. Emails from professors including Martin Davis, Richard Lichtenthal and Letty Moss-Salentijn appear in the files. Shuliak was eventually admitted to the school as a transfer student.
Epstein donated to Columbia via scholarships and gifts from 2004 to 2014, including a $100,000 donation to a program run by professor Ira Lamster. He also made Shuliak’s tuition payments.
In February, Columbia acknowledged that it admitted a student via an “irregular process.” Magnani was removed from the admissions review committee, and Moss-Salentijn will step down from her administrative roles.
In 2013, after worries about her visa status, Shuliak married an American woman. She became a citizen in 2018 and was divorced the following year. Epstein left Shuliak at least $50 million and several of his properties.