Epstein files cast long shadow over global business elite

A raft of emails and documents released by a US House committee relating to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein is drawing renewed attention to his ties to elite business and financial networks. The fresh wave of scrutiny comes long after Epstein's 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor.

On 2 September 2025, the committee released over 33,000 pages of current records provided by the United States Department of Justice related to Jeffrey Epstein.

In mid-November, the committee then released roughly 20,000 pages of additional materials from Epstein’s estate, including newly-seen emails. All of the documents are publicly available.

So far, one of the most high-profile business world figures to be named in the emails is former US treasury secretary and former Harvard president Larry Summers.

Summers wrote in one email exchange with Epstein: "I’m trying to figure why (the) American elite think if u murder your baby by beating and abandonment it must be irrelevant to your admission to Harvard, but hit on a few women 10 years ago and can’t work at a network or think tank. DO NOT REPEAT THIS INSIGHT."

Most of Epstein's email interactions with leading business figures are written in a casual and conversational tone and often feature typos and haphazard grammar, as well as crude remarks many of these figures likely never expected to go public.

Summers also made a reference to women's IQ, writing: "I observed that half of the IQ in (the) world was possessed by women without mentioning they are more than 51% of population."

These comments are being read against the backdrop of his earlier 2005–06 controversy at Harvard, when remarks he made about women’s representation in science and engineering contributed to his resignation as university president.

Summers has said he will step back from public commitments after emails showed he maintained friendly contact with Epstein for years, even as he advised companies, governments, and technology firms.

Once heralded as the best-known macroeconomic policymaker of his generation, Summers was a prominent figure in the administrations of former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

The Harvard professor said in a statement sent to the university's student newspaper on Monday, The Harvard Crimson, that he wanted to "rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me".

"I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognise the pain they have caused. I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr Epstein," he said.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of other key economic, financial industry, and investment players mentioned in the emails. Inclusion in the emails alone does not signal legal wrongdoing.

1. Peter Thiel

Who he is: Co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, early Facebook investor, prominent figure in the US and global tech sector, and venture capital investor.

What the records show: Newly released material and earlier reporting show Epstein cultivated contact with Thiel in the mid-2010s after Epstein pled guilty in Florida to solicitation of prostitution involving a minor in 2008. One email cited in coverage has Epstein emailing Thiel, writing: “that was fun, see you in 3 weeks.”

Other accounts describe Epstein approaching Thiel around potential investments, including emergency-services start-up projects, though no major deals are publicly reported to have resulted. Thiel’s presence in the correspondences underlines that Epstein, though a disgraced financier, remained a contact among top-tier technology investors.

2. Reid Hoffman

Who he is: Co-founder of LinkedIn and a partner at Silicon Valley venture capital firm Greylock Partners.

What the records show: Hoffman is named in the Oversight Committee cache of Epstein-related documents. Separate reporting, predating the latest email dump, documented his participation in meetings involving Epstein linked to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab and at least one visit to Epstein’s private island, which Hoffman has since apologised for.

3. Jes Staley

Who he is: Former head of JPMorgan’s investment bank and later CEO of Barclays, one of the UK’s largest lenders.

What the records show: UK regulators found that Staley and Epstein exchanged more than 1,200 emails between 2008 and 2012 while Staley was at JPMorgan, with contact continuing after Epstein’s release from jail in 2009.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) concluded that Staley recklessly misled it about the nature and extent of the relationship when questions were raised after he joined Barclays. Staley has admitted he had intimate relations with an "Epstein assistant".

The Upper Tribunal has since upheld the FCA’s decision to ban him from senior roles in financial services.

4. Kathryn Ruemmler

Who she is: Chief legal officer at Goldman Sachs, former White House counsel to President Barack Obama, and a former federal prosecutor.

What the records show: Emails released in recent days show Ruemmler maintained contact with Epstein after his conviction. In one exchange about Donald Trump, she reportedly described the former president's success as "seriously scary".

Goldman Sachs insisted that Ruemmler met Epstein as part of her work as a lawyer and never accepted an invitation or an opportunity to fly with him anywhere.

In 2023, Ms Ruemmler told the Wall Street Journal: "I regret ever knowing Jeffrey Epstein."

Ruemmler co-leads Goldman’s reputational risk committee. Her emails with Epstein are therefore being seen as a test of how a major global bank treats conflicts between personal networks and institutional values.

5. Les Wexner

Who he is: Founder of L Brands, the company behind Victoria’s Secret.

What the records show: Epstein managed aspects of Wexner’s personal fortune for years and at one point had power of attorney over some of his finances. Epstein used a Manhattan townhouse owned by a Wexner-linked entity as his primary residence. In 2019, Wexner said he severed ties with Epstein "nearly 12 years ago".

Going forward

Taken together, these cases do not demonstrate that the executives and investors above participated in Epstein’s criminal activity.

They do show that senior figures at major banks, funds, technology firms, and law firms continued to interact with him, sometimes on highly favourable terms, even after his conviction was a matter of public record.

Now that both the House and Senate voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday night to pass a bill forcing the Justice Department to release its files on Epstein, it is possible new names will surface of other business or financial figures who either interacted or collaborated with the convicted sex offender.