{"id":442004,"date":"2026-02-01T02:38:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T02:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/442004\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T02:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T02:38:08","slug":"from-elon-musk-to-the-former-prince-andrew-a-whos-who-of-powerful-men-are-named-in-epstein-files","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/442004\/","title":{"rendered":"From Elon Musk to the former Prince Andrew, a who\u2019s who of powerful men are named in Epstein files"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2013 From tech titans to Wall Street power brokers and foreign dignitaries, a who\u2019s who of powerful men make appearances in the huge trove of documents<\/a> released Friday by the Justice Department in connection with its investigations of Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Many have denied having close ties to the late financier, or at least having anything to do with his alleged sexual abuse of girls and young women that led to his arrest on sex trafficking charges.<\/p>\n

None have been charged with a crime connected to the investigation. Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell<\/a> in 2019. Yet some of them maintained friendships with Epstein, or developed them anew, even after he became known as a predator of young girls and registered sex offender.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a primer on some of the notable names in the Epstein files:<\/p>\n

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor<\/p>\n

The man formerly known as Britain\u2019s Prince Andrew<\/a> has long been dogged by questions about his relationship with Epstein, including allegations from the late Virginia Roberts Giuffre<\/a> that she was trafficked by Epstein and instructed to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor when she was 17.<\/p>\n

The former prince has repeatedly denied<\/a> that it happened, but his brother, King Charles III, still stripped him of his royal titles<\/a> late last year, including the right to be called a prince and the Duke of York.<\/p>\n

Mountbatten-Windsor\u2019s name appears at least several hundred times in Friday\u2019s document release, including in Epstein\u2019s private emails.<\/p>\n

Among the correspondence is an invitation for Epstein<\/a> to dine at Buckingham Palace, Epstein\u2019s offer to introduce Mountbatten-Windsor to a 26-year-old Russian woman, and photos that appear to show Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling over an unidentified woman lying on the floor.<\/p>\n

Elon Musk<\/p>\n

The billionaire Tesla founder turns up at least a few times in Friday\u2019s document release, notably in email exchanges in 2012 and 2013 in which he discussed visiting Epstein\u2019s infamous Caribbean island compound.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not immediately clear if the island visits took place. Spokespersons for Musk\u2019s companies, Tesla and X, didn\u2019t respond to emails seeking comment Friday or Saturday.<\/p>\n

Musk<\/a> has maintained that he repeatedly turned down the disgraced financier\u2019s overtures. \u201cEpstein tried to get me to go to his island and I REFUSED,\u201d he posted on X in 2025.<\/p>\n

Richard Branson<\/p>\n

The billionaire founder of Virgin Group Limited exchanged numerous emails with Epstein in the years after he pleaded guilty to soliciting sex from a minor and agreed to register as a sex offender in Florida in 2008.<\/p>\n

In a 2013 exchange, Branson invited Epstein to his own private Caribbean island.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny time you\u2019re in the area would love to see you,\u201d he wrote. \u201cAs long as you bring your harem!\u201d <\/p>\n

In another message that year, he suggested Epstein rehabilitate his image by convincing Microsoft founder Bill Gates to tell the public how Epstein had \u201cbeen a brilliant adviser to him\u201d and had \u201cmore than learnt your lesson and have done nothing that\u2019s against the law since.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Branson spokesperson suggested the \u201charem\u201d comment referred to adult members of Epstein\u2019s staff. The spokesperson also said Branson eventually severed ties with Epstein after learning more about the \u201cserious allegations\u201d against him.<\/p>\n

Steven Tisch<\/p>\n

The New York Giants co-owner is mentioned more than 400 times in the files released Friday. Correspondence between the two shows Epstein offered to connect Tisch to numerous women over the years.<\/p>\n

In one 2013 email exchange with the subject line \u201cUkrainian girl,\u201d Epstein encouraged Tisch to contact a particular woman, whose physical beauty he praised in crude terms.<\/p>\n

\u201cPro or civilian?\u201d Tisch asked in reply.<\/p>\n

Tisch, a scion of a powerful New York family that founded the Loews Corporation, has acknowledged knowing Epstein but denied ever going<\/a> to his infamous Caribbean island.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy and investments,\u201d said Tisch, who also won an Academy Award in 1994 for producing \u201cForrest Gump.\u201d \u201cAs we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Casey Wasserman<\/p>\n

The president of the committee for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles exchanged flirty emails<\/a> with Epstein confidant Ghislaine Maxwell, Friday’s document release shows. <\/p>\n

In a 2003 exchange, Wasserman wrote to Maxwell: \u201cI think of you all the time. So, what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?\u201d<\/p>\n

In another, Maxwell asks whether it will be foggy enough during an upcoming visit \u201cso that you can float naked down the beach and no one can see you unless they are close up?\u201d<\/p>\n

Wasserman released a statement Saturday saying he never had a personal or business relationship with Epstein and that he regretted the correspondence with Maxwell, which he said came \u201clong before her horrific crimes came to light.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence<\/a> for sex trafficking and abuse of minors. <\/p>\n

Ehud Barak<\/p>\n

The former Israeli prime minister and his wife turn up frequently in the documents released Friday, showing they stayed in regular contact with Epstein for years, including well after his 2008 guilty plea for sex crimes in Florida. <\/p>\n

Among the correspondence are plans for a 2017 stay at Epstein\u2019s New York residence. Other missives discuss mundane logistics for other visits, meetings and phone calls with Epstein. <\/p>\n

Barak has acknowledged regularly visiting Epstein on his trips to New York and flying on his private plane, but maintains he never observed<\/a> any inappropriate behavior or parties.<\/p>\n

Barak served as Israel\u2019s prime minister from 1999 to 2001 and later served as its defense minister.<\/p>\n

Howard Lutnick<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump\u2019s commerce secretary visited Epstein\u2019s private Caribbean island with his family on at least one occasion, records released Friday show. <\/p>\n

That appears to contradict prior statements he\u2019s made claiming he cut ties with the disgraced financier, who he\u2019s called \u201cgross,\u201d decades ago. <\/p>\n

But emails show Lutnick and his wife accepted an invitation to Little St. James in the U.S. Virgin Islands in December 2012 and planned to arrive by yacht with their children.<\/p>\n

The former chairman of Newmark, a major commercial real estate firm, also had drinks on another occasion in 2011 with Epstein and corresponded with him about the construction of a building across the street from both of their homes.<\/p>\n

The Commerce Department, in a statement, said Lutnick had \u201climited interactions with Mr. Epstein in the presence of his wife and has never been accused of wrongdoing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sergey Brin<\/p>\n

The billionaire Google co-founder made plans to meet with Epstein and Maxwell at his townhouse in New York years before he was publicly accused of sexually abusing underage girls, emails show. <\/p>\n

In one exchange in 2003, Maxwell invited him to join her at a screening of the Renee Zellweger film \u201cDown with Love\u201d in New York. <\/p>\n

She followed up a few weeks later to invite him to a \u201chappily casual and relaxed\u201d dinner at Epstein\u2019s house. Brin offered to bring along Google\u2019s then-CEO Eric Schmidt.<\/p>\n

Spokespersons for Google didn\u2019t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Saturday.<\/p>\n

Steve Bannon<\/p>\n

The one-time adviser to Trump exchanged hundreds of friendly texts with Epstein, some sent months before his 2019 arrest and jailhouse suicide. <\/p>\n

The two discussed politics, travel and a documentary Bannon was said to be planning that would help salvage Epstein\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n

One 2018 exchange, for example, focused on Trump\u2019s threats at the time to oust Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. In a 2019 message, Bannon asked Epstein if he could supply his plane to pick him up in Rome.<\/p>\n

Bannon hasn\u2019t responded to emails seeking comment.<\/p>\n

Miroslav Lajcak<\/p>\n

A national security adviser to the Slovakian prime minister, Lajcak resigned Saturday after his past communications with Epstein appeared in Friday\u2019s document release. <\/p>\n

Opposition parties and a nationalist partner in Fico\u2019s governing coalition had called for him to step down. <\/p>\n

Lajcak, a former Slovak foreign minister and a onetime president of the U.N. General Assembly, has not been accused of any wrongdoing, but was photographed meeting with Epstein in the years between his initial release from jail and his subsequent indictment in 2019 on sex trafficking charges.<\/p>\n

He said his correspondence with Epstein were part of his diplomatic duties.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press journalists from around the country contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK \u2013 From tech titans to Wall Street power brokers and foreign dignitaries, a who\u2019s who of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442005,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[142324,15881,4,450,28,12,11,88,120672,31684,451,8148,14825,2938,8832,3,111,119332,83694,99,167917,452,453,795,141087,800,965],"class_list":["post-442004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-andrew-mountbatten-windsor","tag-bill-gates","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-business","tag-donald-trump","tag-elon-musk","tag-entertainment","tag-eric-schmidt","tag-ghislaine-maxwell","tag-headlines","tag-howard-lutnick","tag-jeffrey-epstein","tag-jerome-powell","tag-king-charles-iii","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-richard-branson","tag-sergei-brin","tag-sports","tag-steve-tisch","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-u-s-news","tag-virginia-louise-giuffre","tag-washington-news","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=442004"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442004\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}