Epstein’s Silicon Valley ties extended beyond just Musk and Gates

The US Department of Justice’s recent release of millions of documents relating to notorious sex criminal and financier Jeffrey Epstein has shed more light on the relationships he built with several influential figures, including many in the US tech industry.

It is worth noting that the files refer to communications and meetings in which technology mogul Elon Musk and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates participated, who are two of the richest people in the world. This has drawn significant scrutiny of the couple in recent weeks, and both have denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein.

But these two billionaires aren’t the only tech names that appear repeatedly in the new set of documents. Other tech executives include Google co-founder Sergey Brin, venture capitalist Peter Thiel, former Microsoft CEO Steven Sinofsky, and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman.

While these executives have been linked to Epstein in the past, the new disclosures reveal more than previously known about their association with the convicted sex offender through records ranging from emails to timelines and photos.

Brin and Sinofsky did not comment on the matter, while Thiel and Hoffman said they were associated with Epstein only for legal and legitimate purposes.

The authorities stressed that mentioning the name in the records does not indicate evidence of wrongdoing and does not prove that the name was part of an alleged client list or extortion scheme.

Still, the files help paint a picture of Epstein’s long-term efforts to embed himself in some of Silicon Valley’s most powerful circles — and at times become a close friend and power broker — before his death in 2019.

Those communications began around 2014 and continued until around 20142019a few months before Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges, and long after he was first formally charged with sex-related crimes in 2006.

Among the materials: A Undated conversation recording Between Epstein and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, with Epstein referring to Thiel.

In the recording, Epstein advised Barrack on how to leverage his connections to obtain a lucrative position at a company, with Palantir floated as a potential option. He added that he had not met Thiel yet but hoped to see him the following week.

The duo will actually get to know each other better over emails over the years including meeting plans and discussions about Trump campaignand other informal exchanges. Before one of the planned meetings, Thiel’s team sent its meeting Nutritional details to Epstein’s employees.

Files released by the House Oversight Committee in November 2025 also showed Epstein Thiel called To visit him in the Caribbean.

In response to CNBC’s request for comment, a representative for Thiel said the venture capitalist never visited Epstein’s notorious private island in the Virgin Islands.

New York Times Reported in June In 2015 and 2016, Epstein invested $40 million in two funds managed by the venture capital firm Thiel co-founded.

In a Podcast appearance On a program broadcast on August 16, 2024, Thiel discussed some of his encounters with Epstein, noting that he had met with him several times starting in 2014, after being introduced by Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn.

Thiel said the discussions focused on tax and financial advice. He added that he downplayed the seriousness of Epstein’s previous crimes because of Epstein’s reduced sentence in 2008 and his confidence in judging his connections.

While much of the correspondence centered on fundraising for MIT’s Media Lab, it also included personal interactions, tax advice, meeting plans, and Mention of gifts Hoffman sent to Epstein. The documents also confirm a 2014 visit by Hoffman to Epstein’s private island.

Hoffman previously admitted to visiting the island, saying the trip was for charitable purposes only, and that he later regretted not conducting a thorough search for Epstein beforehand.

However, other emails show plans to make additional visits to Epstein’s properties, including his home Zorro’s farm in New Mexico and his apartment in Manhattan, although it is unclear which of those trips actually took place. Hoffman recently certain 2016 meetings with Epstein in Palo Alto and Cambridge.

Epstein is seen referring to Hoffman as a “very close friend”, and at one point saying he was Missed seeing and talking to Internet entrepreneur. Emails in 2014 also show the financier trying to help connect Hoffman with him Investment opportunities In India.

Meanwhile, a 2015 email from Epstein mentioned a dinner Hoffman hosted in Palo Alto, It was attended by Zuckerberg, Musk, Thiel, and MIT neuroscientist Ed Boyden.

Hoffman Connecting Zuckerberg and Epstein Via email after the event. In response to an inquiry, Meta directed CNBC to a 2019 statement from a spokesperson, which stated that Zuckerberg did not reach out to Epstein again after dinner.

Hoffman did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment. He has previously said he regrets his interactions with Epstein and has called for the full release of the Epstein files. The most recent documents reviewed by CNBC did not include any indications of criminal wrongdoing or involvement in Epstein’s illegal activities.

However, in November last year, President Donald Trump did just that The Justice Department ordered an investigation To Hoffman, a major Democratic donor, along with former President Bill Clinton and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.

Trump framed the investigation as an investigation into Democratic ties to Epstein, though some critics said it was a deviation from what Trump stated in the files. Trump confirmed his past friendship with Epstein, but said he had no knowledge of his crimes and severed ties with him years ago.

one Certain email chain dated April 2003 It showed Brin communicating with Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate and convicted co-conspirator, regarding possible dinner plans at Epstein’s New York estate.

It appears that the exchange was a follow-up to a previous meeting between the two. “Dinner at Jeffrey’s is always casual and relaxed. We look forward to seeing you,” Maxwell wrote.

CNBC contacted Brin via Google for comment, but did not receive a response.

Ties between Epstein and Brin have been previously documented, although no allegations of wrongdoing have been made.

In 2004, Epstein was allegedly involved in this matter He referred Breen to JPMorgan Chase as a client and later connected with bank executives for tax advice, according to a complaint filed by the U.S. Virgin Islands government in U.S. district court against JPMorgan Chase. The US Virgin Islands also subpoenaed Brin in March 2023 to obtain documents related to Epstein’s interactions with JPMorgan.

Meanwhile,Court documents They were revealed in 2024 in connection with lawsuits involving Maxwell, which included documents in which Epstein accuser Sarah Ransom claimed she met Prine and his then-fiancée, ex-wife Anne Wojcicki, on Epstein’s island.

Brin resigned from his position as president of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, on December 3, 2019, saying at the time that he was no longer needed in the position. However, he remained the controlling shareholder and member of the board of directors.

He returned from semi-retirement in late 2023 to actively contribute to the company’s AI initiatives, including work on Gemini.

Documents showed that Sinofsky had He sought Epstein’s advice On the terms of his exit from Microsoft after his departure in 2012.

Sinofsky, who is now a partner on the board of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz Email Epstein In September 2013, about three months after Microsoft announced the terms of the $14 million retirement agreement, he wrote: “You got paid. You’ll get paid too :)”

Sinofsky continued to email Epstein throughout 2018, discussing his finances, career prospects, and social events in New York, San Francisco, and Seattle.

An email exchange from November 2012 also appears to show an Epstein reference Possible meeting between Sinofsky and Apple’s Tim Cook regarding job opportunities. In the email, Epstein appears to indicate that he recently spoke with Cook, saying “Tim Cook was excited to meet” with Sinofsky, though the context is unclear. Months later, Sinofsky did just that EmailEpstein reported a meeting with Cook.

Sinofsky declined to comment. Apple did not respond to a request for comment regarding the alleged Epstein-Cook interaction.

Epstein’s relationship with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, which has appeared in previous releases of documents, has also come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks after being mentioned in the latest disclosures. Those messages included drafts of emails written to himself in which Epstein indicated that he helped facilitate extramarital affairs and sexual encounters for Gates, among other things.

In an interview with Australia’s 9News on Wednesday, Gates denied any wrongdoing in relation to the new files, calling Epstein’s claims “completely ridiculous and completely false.”

He stressed that his interactions with Epstein were limited to dinners intended for possible charitable discussions, adding that he “never went to the island” and “never met any women.”