Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Howard Lutnick face new scrutiny over Epstein ties 

Newly released investigative files concerning the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have cast more scrutiny on his connections with some of the US’s wealthiest and most powerful men, including moguls Bill Gates and Elon Musk.

The tranche of documents released by the US Department of Justice on Friday comes more than a month after the December 19 deadline set in legislation for all the Epstein-related documents to be published.

The release spanning 3 million pages has cast a spotlight on two of the world’s richest men – Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Tesla founder Elon Musk – both of whom previously downplayed their connections to Epstein.

In a draft email included among the documents, Epstein alleged Gates had engaged in extramarital affairs and sought his help procuring drugs “to deal with consequences of sex with Russian girls.” The Gates Foundation, in a statement to The New York Times, denied the allegations of affairs.

Emails from Tesla founder Elon Musk to Epstein show Musk actively pursuing several visits to Epstein’s private Caribbean island between 2012 and 2013, years after Epstein had been convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor. In one exchange in 2012, Musk writes: “What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?”

One planned meeting with Musk in 2013 appears to have been cancelled by Epstein due to scheduling. The emails do not indicate that Musk ultimately visited Epstein’s island, but challenge previous Musk claims that he is the one to have rebuffed Epstein’s invitations.

Musk responded on Saturday on his X social media platform that he had been “well aware that some email correspondence with him could be misinterpreted and used by detractors to smear my name.”

“No one pushed harder than me to have the Epstein files released and I’m glad that has finally happened,” Musk wrote. “I had very little correspondence with Epstein and declined repeated invitations to ‌go to his island or fly on his ‘Lolita Express.’”

The files also include email correspondence showing Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick arranging to visit Epstein’s island in December 2012. One email, forwarded from Epstein’s assistant to Lutnick, appears to confirm the two men met during that period.

In October 2025, Lutnick called Epstein “gross” and “the greatest blackmailer ever,” claiming he had severed ties with the man years earlier.

A ‌Department of Commerce spokesperson said in a statement that Lutnick had “limited interactions with Mr. Epstein in the presence of his wife and has never been accused of wrongdoing.”

Despite the new disclosures, a group of survivors of Epstein’s alleged abuses said some of their alleged abusers “remain hidden and protected”.

A statement from 19 of the survivors, some using aliases or initials, said information about them still remained in the files, “while the men who abused us remain hidden and protected.” The letter demanded “the full release of the Epstein files” and that Attorney General Pam Bondi directly address the matter when she testifies before Congress next month.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act, signed into law by Trump on November 19, called for all the Epstein-related documents held by the Justice Department to be published by December 19.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Friday’s release “marks the end of a very comprehensive document identification and review process”. He blamed the delay on work on redactions to protect the identities of Epstein’s more than 1,000 alleged victims.