The tech titans who show up in the Epstein files

Deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein cultivated a network of powerful tech leaders and executives in the early to mid-2010s, according to Mashable's review of some of the documents contained in the Department of Justice's latest release of Epstein files.

A number of boldface names show up in his inbox during that time, including Bill Gates, Reid Hoffman, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos. None of the individuals have been accused of participating in Epstein's abuse and trafficking of minors.

Based on the reviewed documents and previously reported information, Epstein demonstrated a longstanding interest in not only socializing with the tech elite, but also making influential investments and behind-the-scenes moves to influence technological innovation.

The New York Times reported Thursday that he had access to startups and venture capital funds, and the executives leading them, well after he pleaded guilty for soliciting a minor for prostitution in Florida, in 2008. Epstein was, for example, an early investor in the cryptocurrency startup Coinbase, in 2014, according to the records.

Epstein's unusual deal required him to register as a sex offender, and he ultimately served roughly 13 months in jail.

The charge and Epstein's incarceration weren't secrets; The Daily Beast reported on the financier's deal and criminal behavior in 2010. (Former Daily Beast editor Tina Brown recently recounted Epstein's high-pressure legal campaign against the coverage prior to its publication.)

Still, those revelations didn't stop tech leaders from befriending Epstein as e-commerce, social media, and the beginnings of artificial intelligence reshaped the internet, the economy, and society. Per the documents Mashable was able to review, Epstein had different relationships with big players in tech.

Some appeared to be collaborators or friends, such as Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel, and LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman. Some, like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Google cofounder Sergey Brin, were cc'd on emails to numerous tech executives that Epstein also received. Others, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, were mentioned in Epstein's schedule, by his assistant, or in conversation with a third party.

The documents give startling insight into how Epstein operated with tech executives.

Epstein and tech execs: Professional, sometimes friendly and familiar

In Sept. 2012, Epstein emailed Musk to ask about "the Al guy in London that you thought was smart." Musk simply replies, "Demis Hassabis". Hassabis is now the co-founder & CEO of Google Deep Mind. Google acquired Hassabis' company DeepMind Technologies in 2014.

Musk's exchanges with Epstein weren't limited to professional matters. Epstein invited Musk to his infamous Caribbean private island home, where Epstein engaged in the rape and sexual abuse of minors, and provided trafficked minors to other powerful men. Over the course of a year, Musk tried to schedule a visit to the island.

In Nov. 2012, Musk asked, "What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?" He had planned to attend with his wife at the time and suggested on X that, as a result, he didn't anticipate anything "actually shady."

In the months of email exchanges, Musk appears to have had scheduling conflicts that prevented him from visiting. Musk recently said on X that he "declined repeated invitations" from Epstein and had never been to his island or on his private plane.

Musk claims that "nobody has fought harder for full release" of the Epstein files than him.

Epstein also emailed Hoffman directly a number of times between 2013 and 2018. Hoffman acknowledged on social media that he met Epstein at his island home for a "fundraising visit." Hoffman has published on X a list of dates he met with Epstein to discuss a "fundraising relationship" he had with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Epstein contributed $850,000 to MIT between 2002 and 2017. Hoffman said on X that "interacting with Epstein post-conviction is something I deeply regret."

In one email from Dec. 2014, Hoffman wrote Epstein to say that he sent two gifts to his New York City address: "1- ice cream. if you have any interest, you should try — else for the girls." It's unclear who Hoffman is referencing when he mentions "girls." (The dash in Hoffman's writing appeared originally; it is not a redaction.)

Mashable reached out to Hoffman for comment about the identity of the girls he referenced. 

"The victims of Epstein’s abhorrent and vile actions deserve all the information they are seeking, and I continue to call on President Trump to deliver that for them," Hoffman wrote on X.

The nature of their respective relationships with Epstein has become the source of an accusatory back-and-forth between Musk and Hoffman on Musk's social media platform X.

The Epstein files contain 6,500 references to "the girls." Epstein's will did not appear to name any biological dependents or beneficiaries aside from his brother.

Epstein wrote personally about "the girls" in a February 2013 email to a contact, noting that "the girls and i are going to see elon musk at space x tomorrow".

In 2014, an email with redacted correspondents discusses arrangements for "the girls. 

"Can you help?," reads the email addressed to a person named Richard. "As I did not hear back from [redacted] and I think that JE wants me to reach out to the girls regarding their individual spaces." The exchange, which includes more detail, is eventually forwarded to Epstein. 

A 2015 email involving Epstein's assistant details "cleaning" arrangements for the girls and their apartments. The redacted respondent says, "Okey (sic) me and Leo's back to weelkly (sic) cleaning with the girls…We apologize for not cleaning the girls this week but we can clean some girls today if you want…" A 2017 email with redacted respondents goes into detail about a cleaning schedule and anticipating guests for the apartments. 

"Get the girls apartments done and 7J for our guest arriving tonight," the email reads.

A list of tech titans who appear in the Epstein files

An appearance by a major tech executive in the files does not imply or indicate that they participated in illegal or criminal behavior. This list is organized in alphabetical order. The number of appearances can include duplicate documents and references.

1. Jeff Bezos: 194 references

Bezos' name appears in the files relatively infrequently compared to people like Gates and Hoffman. In one 2018 email, a contact of Epstein's asked if he should attend a talk given by Bezos. Epstein replies, "yes you can say hello from me".

In a 2010 email, Bezos is cc'd along with several high-profile tech executives (Brin, Musk, Google cofounder Larry Page) in an email from the literary agent John Brockman related to a book that he'd championed. 

Bezos is also mentioned as a potential dinner party guest in a 2011 email to Epstein from investor and inventor Boris Nikolic. Similarly, a 2018 email involving Epstein's assistant listed Epstein as a guest at a 2014 dinner where the RSVPs included Bezos, Brin, and Page.

In 2016, Epstein received a text message from director Woody Allen, who declared, "I think Jeff Bezos is my idol." Epstein replies, "I was with him yesterday".

Mashable reached out to Amazon for comment. 

2. Sergey Brin: 265 references

Brin shows up in the files as early as 2003, years before Epstein pleaded guilty to prostituting minors. Epstein's co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell met Brin at a TED Conference that year, then reached out via email.

"Just incase (sic) I need to jog your memory as to who I am - I am the crazy girl with short dark hair who flew a Black Hawk in Colombia and a friend of Jeffrey Epstein and [redacted]," she wrote in March 2003.

Brin responded that he traveled to New York City a few times a year and planned to be there in April. Maxwell invited Brin to dinner. The plans ultimately changed locations to Epstein's Manhattan home. "[D]inners at Jeffrey's are always happily casual and relaxed," Maxwell wrote. Brin responded with his availability.

Brin also authored a May 2003 email with the subject line "aircraft carrier" to Maxwell. The body of the message is blank. Similar messages, addressed to Maxwell by Brin but with a blank body, appear in the files.

In a long, heavily redacted letter apparently written by an Epstein survivor, Brin is named as an individual the victim met while on Epstein's island at an unspecified time. The victim does not accuse Brin, who allegedly visited with his then-fiancée, Anne Wojcicki, of any crimes.

Mashable reached out to Google for comment. 

3. Tim Cook: 152 references*

Cook appears in the files because news articles or briefings mention his name in relation to Apple. The documents also contain email messages between Epstein and individuals working to arrange meetings with Cook.

In a Nov. 2012 exchange, someone who meets with Cook tells Epstein that Cook would be "excited" to meet with Epstein but has heard Epstein is forming a company that would require him to decline the invitation.

*Some of Epstein's shipping invoices are addressed to a Tim Cook, care of a yacht harbor in the British Virgin Islands, in the early 2000s. The number of references includes shipping invoices with that Tim Cook's name on them. Mashable has reached out to Apple to determine whether that Tim Cook is the same as the Apple CEO.

4. Bill Gates: 2,527 references

The Microsoft cofounder has admitted, with regret, to a friendly relationship with Epstein. His spokesperson also unequivocally denied salacious allegations contained in the latest batch of files. In two July 2013 emails that Epstein sent to himself, he addresses the messages to Gates and describes a rupture in what he viewed as a close relationship.

Epstein claims that Gates asked him to delete emails "regarding your std, your request that I provide you antibiotics that you can surreptitiously give to Melinda [French Gates], and the description of your penis. You also made it clear to me that I am not to refer to [redacted] as that is another topic that must remain between the two of us."

Epstein also tries to lay out a financial resolution to a business partnership they formed. Gates has said the email was never sent.

"These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false," Gates' spokesperson told NPR. "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."

Gates' relationship with Epstein reportedly played a role in Melinda French Gate's 2021 divorce from her husband. She told NPR that the new allegations in Epstein's files brought up painful times in her marriage.

"Whatever questions remain there of what — I can't even begin to know all of it — those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband," French Gates said. "They need to answer to those things, not me."

5. Reid Hoffman: 2,638 references

As much as Hoffman emphasizes his fundraising ties to Epstein, he appears close to him in emails exchanged over several years, and they also set up Skype calls.

In addition to the aforementioned exchanges, Hoffman wished Epstein well in May 2018 and said, "loo= (sic) forward to being in the same area of the world at some point. ☺" He suggested a Skype call to discuss Epstein investing in a fund, to which Epstein replied, "always can make time for a reid skype. :)"

Years earlier, in Jan. 2014, Epstein wrote to Hoffman, "have some inquiries from some interesting people, re a bitcoin type currency, wait until you hear". Hoffman replied with interest.

Mashable reached out to Greylock Partners, where Hoffman is a partner, for comment. 

6. Elon Musk: 1,086 references

Aside from Musk's early 2010s exchanges with Epstein about visiting his island, a number of references to his name are from bulletins or news aggregators that Epstein's email account received, even as recently as last year. Musk is also referred to in passing as a potential event attendee or briefly as a subject of conversation.

7. Larry Page: 293 references

Page appears at roughly the same frequency as his Google cofounder Sergey Brin.

In 2009, for example, Epstein is included in a forwarded email correspondence that attempts to explain Page's thinking about the emergence of general artificial intelligence.

In one 2010 email, it appears as though Page requested use of Epstein's helicopter through a third party during a trip to St. Barts. A follow-up email from a third party instructs Epstein to disregard the request as Page has chosen to use a boat instead.

In 2014, a redacted sender shared Page's email address to Epstein. Like many of the tech executives, Page is included in guest lists of dinners or events that Epstein might attend, well after his plea deal. Media mentions of Page also account for references to him.

Mashable reached out to Google for comment. 

8. Peter Thiel: 2,273 references

Peter Thiel, a venture capitalist and Republican mega donor, seemed to have a close business relationship with Epstein, according to the documents. 

In July 2025, a Times review of Epstein's estate identified $40 million investments that Epstein made into funds operated by Valar Ventures, a firm backed by Thiel. Epstein also consulted Thiel for investing advice.

His spokesperson told the New York Times that Thiel did not visit Epstein's private island. Thiel has yet to comment on his communication with Epstein. 

According to the newest documents, they appeared to be in frequent contact in the mid- to late 2010s. 

In 2014, Thiel sent a text message to note that he'd just tried calling Epstein. A 2017 message from Epstein's assistant that appears to double as a scheduling alert, simply reads, "August 14, 2017 11:45 AM : Peter Thiel Friday sometime". Other scheduling reminders indicate that Thiel and Epstein met and spoke to each other on the phone with some regularity. They remained in touch, trying to pin down each other's whereabouts, as late as 2019.

9. Mark Zuckerberg: 280 references

In Aug. 2015, an assistant to Epstein sent a message to Zuckerberg's email address noting that the Facebook founder had recently spoken to Epstein at a dinner party hosted by Hoffman and Thiel.

"At the party Mark requested Jeffrey send his contact details to him...could you please pass the below on to Mark?" the assistant wrote, including Epstein's phone number and email address. In a message sent soon after that, Epstein's assistant sent Zuckerberg an hour-long YouTube lecture on the meaning of math.

Zuckerberg appears years earlier in the files, when a contact of Epstein's discusses with his assistant possible meetings in Silicon Valley during a trip in Aug. 2012. Epstein appeared interested in bringing "Woody" along to a meeting with Zuckerberg at Facebook, or for them to meet Zuckerberg at dinner.

It's unclear if the Woody cited is the film director, who communicated often with Epstein and whose name is referenced 7,260 times in the files. 

Mashable reached out to Meta, the parent company of Facebook, for comment.