The Money of Jeffrey Epstein Interacted With Startups in Silicon Valley
The disgraced financier regularly courted tech industry figures for access to promising businesses in addition to their prestige. Coinbase was a two-year-old startup that let people buy and sell Bitcoin in 2014. It turned to Jeffrey Epstein, an unlikely source, for growth funding. One of Coinbase’s founders, Fred Ehrsam, wrote to associates, “Would be nice to meet him if convenient.” Epstein in December 2014, when the financier was getting ready to invest $3 million. Until then, Mr. Despite the fact that Epstein had previously been convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008, Coinbase still took his money. Over the course of its growth into one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges, Mr. Epstein.
 According to newly released documents from the Justice Department that detail the disgraced financier’s life before he was jailed in 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges, Epstein’s investment of $3 million would result in returns of multiple millions of dollars. Not only do the documents show Mr. Epstein’s connections in Silicon Valley, as well as his access to lucrative deals and buzzy start-ups, some of which would become tech industry pillars in the future.
In the process, Mr. Despite the growing attention being paid to Epstein’s abuse of young women and girls, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and communications professionals assisted him. Peter Thiel, a billionaire, gave Mr. Epstein regarding potential Palantir investments, Mr. Thiel’s company for data analysis. Mr. While Epstein’s financial advisor was urged to back SpaceX, Epstein invested in the well-known wearable technology startup Jawbone.
And Mr. Epstein hired a Russian immigrant who had become an expert in public relations to help arrange meetings with media outlets and founders of start-ups. Mr. The connections that Epstein has with prominent technologists like Bill Gates, Sergey Brin, Reid Hoffman, and Mr. There has been a lot written about Thiel, and some people have said that they regret working with the financier. The most recent batch of files sheds more light on Mr. According to an audit of Epstein’s finances contained in the files, Epstein continued to fund a lavish lifestyle with assets worth more than $600 million after his 2008 conviction and was arrested in 2019.
Mr. Epstein was introduced to Coinbase by Brock Pierce, a crypto entrepreneur with a questionable financial history. Later, Brock Pierce sent Epstein frequently signed updates on the business’s state. Ehrsam or Brian Armstrong, Coinbase’s chief executive. In 2018, an investment company established by Mr. Pierce attempted to acquire half of Mr. $15 million of Epstein’s Coinbase holdings.
It’s not clear when or if Mr. Epstein sold the remaining portion. Coinbase did not respond to requests for comment. Mr. Emails seeking clarification did not receive a response from Ehrsam. Picks of the Editors Avoid keeping a diary. Instead, take in the little bits of real life. Can a humidifier help with dryness in the winter? What “Heated Rivalry” Gets Right About Men’s Sports Is “Things Have Not Changed.” Mr. Before his criminal activities were made public, Epstein’s connections to technology date back to the dot-com boom.
He frequently appeared as a guest at Edge Foundation dinners and tech conferences that gathered a prestigious group of business leaders. Jason Calacanis, an investor, maintained contact with Mr. According to emails included in the documents, Epstein assisted the financier in contacting two Bitcoin developers three years after his conviction in 2008. Despite the fact that he was everywhere, Mr. After the documents were made public, Calacanis wrote in a post on social media. He went on to say, “His interest in me was probably because I was an angel investor in technology startups,” and he concluded by saying so.
Mr. Hosain Rahman was first introduced to him by Hosain Rahman, a co-founder of Jawbone, a startup that initially produced Bluetooth headsets before expanding into wearable fitness trackers. Epstein at an event hosted by TED. In 2012, political and executive advisor Ian Osborne reconnected the two and encouraged Mr. Epstein will put money into Jawbone.
Mr. Allen was in San Francisco filming “Blue Jasmine” for Woody Allen. Mr. Epstein was invited. Rahman will go to the location where Mr. Epstein demonstrated a pair of cutting-edge eyeglasses. Mr. said, “Have some big ideas.” Rahman sent an email to Mr. Epstein in 2012. “Could we talk about it more?” That autumn, Mr. Mr. Rahman visited the Zorro Ranch. Epstein’s vast property in New Mexico.
Mr. According to documents, Epstein increased his stake in Jawbone from $5 million in 2012 to $11.25 million in 2017. In 2017, Jawbone failed and went bankrupt. Mr. Mr. Epstein was threatened with legal action. According to a report released by the Justice Department, Rahman was upset about the failure and even hired a private investigator to try to find out more information about him.
In 2018, Mr. Rahman provided Mr. In an effort to ward off the legal threats, Epstein accepted a position as a “senior adviser” at Jawbone Health, a newly established business. Mr. Epstein stated, “We wish he hadn’t put together a special purpose vehicle to invest in Jawbone.” In an email, Rahman stated. Mr. Osborne didn’t say anything. Having Mr. Mr. Epstein, Additionally, Mr. Osborne talked about potential investments in cybersecurity companies and Palantir.
Thiel helped found. By 2014, Mr. Epstein was interested in Palantir and once suggested to the former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak that he talk to Mr. According to a recording that the Justice Department has made available, Thiel discussed taking on an advisory role there. Mr. The meeting between Epstein and Mr. Thiel met with the venture capitalist several times in 2014, and by that time, he had begun contacting him via email for investment advice.
He posed the question to Mr. Before asking Mr. Thiel if Palantir was conducting a round of financing, Thiel was asked if he should put $100 million into the music streaming service Spotify, which was valued at $5 billion. Responding, Mr. Thiel contacted Mr. to advise him to “hold off” investing in Spotify, according to Epstein. Mr. said, “Somewhat more bullish on Palantir, but I don’t think it’s necessary to rush.” Thiel mentioned his own business.
A Palantir spokesperson stated in a statement that the business “was not aware of Epstein ever investing in or being a shareholder in Palantir.” Additionally, she stated that Palantir “never had a business relationship with Ehud Barak.” Spotify’s spokesperson stated that the company “never offered Mr. Epstein the chance to directly invest in the company.” A representative for Mr.
When asked for his opinion, Thiel did not respond. Mr. Epstein made a $40 million investment in one of Mr. Valar Ventures, one of Thiel’s venture capital firms, in two separate transactions. Mr. These assets, which were valued at approximately $170 million as of the summer before last, are still owned by Epstein’s estate. Valar expressed its hope that the “eventual distribution of these investments can be put to positive use by helping victims move forward with their lives” in a statement issued the previous year.
Mr. Epstein used his connections at Deutsche Bank, which took him on as a client in 2013 and later paid a $150 million fine for its role in extending his influence, to gain access to additional deals. Mr. Paul Barrett, a financial adviser, was introduced to Deutsche Bank through a connection. According to Justice Department emails, Epstein was offered a chance to invest in SpaceX with a venture capital firm. In October of that year, Mr. According to emails released by the Justice Department, Barrett met with Vy Capital, an Emirati venture firm that offered the opportunity to invest in a subsidiary company and gain access to $50 million worth of SpaceX shares.
The rocket manufacturer owned by Elon Musk was valued at $22 billion at the time. Mr. Epstein formed a personal connection with Mr. Musk, who in 2013 invited the financier to SpaceX’s headquarters for lunch and a tour. Mr. According to his emails, Epstein also had at least one opportunity in 2016 to invest in the business through a different financial adviser, but it is unknown if he ever did. A Vy spokesperson stated in a statement that the company only had “one 30-minute introductory call arranged by Deutsche Bank” with Mr. Barrett and never interacted or conducted business with Mr. Epstein.
The spokeswoman said, “We regard his conduct as abhorrent and have never — and would never — associate with him in any form,” and that the company learned of Mr. Mr. Barrett’s connections Epstein was only contacted by The New York Times. Deutsche Bank’s spokesperson declined to comment. Mr. A request for information from Barrett was unanswered. On the internet, Mr. Musk has stated that he “had very little correspondence with Epstein,” but he did not discuss the SpaceX tour or his meetings with Epstein.
In 2017, Mr. Epstein had a meeting with Masha Drokova, a PR professional who is now known as Masha Bucher. Ms. Day One Ventures, Bucher’s venture capital fund, organized a series of meetings for Mr. Epstein with reporters from The Times, Forbes, Nature, and other publications. Additionally, she made connections between Mr. Epstein and entrepreneurs, including Bryan Johnson, the longevity influencer and entrepreneur.
 Mr. In a statement, Johnson stated that he had one video conference with Mr. Epstein and “leaved the call feeling as though Epstein was the most dark and evil person I had ever encountered,” according to Epstein. A spokesperson for Ms. When asked for his opinion, Bucher did not respond. Mr. Over the course of his career, Epstein established a number of connections with investors and smaller tech figures, such as the Bitcoin developer Jeremy Rubin and the cybersecurity entrepreneur Vincenzo Iozzo, both of whom provided him with investment opportunities.
June of 2018 saw Mr. Epstein made the move to establish a specialized investment vehicle for Mr. Rubin. According to emails, $5 million was going to be used as funding. Mr. Mr. Rubin and Iozzo didn’t say anything.
Mr. Rubin expressed concern regarding the possible reactions of founders to taking money from a sex offender. In an email to Mr., he wrote, “Potential investments googling your name might get spooked.” Epstein, with “Fund Optics” as the subject line. Mr. Rubin advised against naming Mr. Epstein and merely stating, “I raised a fund” to others. Mr. Despite Epstein’s agreement, he desired to meet the Mr. Layer1, a cryptocurrency company, was Mr. Rubin’s first potential investment.Â
Mr. Rubin was suggested to During a conference call with the founders, Epstein used a pseudonym or just “Jeff” to hide his identity. When the founders of Layer1 demanded to know who was investing their money, Mr. Epstein sent Mr. an email response. That Rubin’s powerful friend, Mr. He would have Thiel’s support. Layer1 co-founder Alex Liegl claimed that the business had not taken Mr. Neither Epstein nor Deploy Capital had been discussed with Mr. Thiel.
Nonetheless, later that day, after Mr. Mr. Epstein’s email In response, Rubin wrote with good news. He stated, “They are not bothered.” “They’ll talk to Thiel.”
