Business leaders named in Jeffrey Epstein document release
The public release of documents related to sex trafficker and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein as part of a lawsuit against his former lover and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell revealed the names of several prominent business figures in two document dumps Wednesday and Thursday evening, and more are expected in the coming days.
Epstein associated with numerous celebrities, entertainers, politicians and business titans, and the documents revealed over 150 names of people connected to the financier after previously redacted documents were unsealed as part of Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit against Maxwell.
The names were mentioned in depositions of Giuffre and another alleged Epstein victim, Johanna Sjoberg, as well as Maxwell.
Some of the names of individuals linked to Epstein were previously known. Others were put in a new context following the latest document release. Many are people who have not been accused of wrongdoing.
JEFFREY EPSTEIN LIST: COURT UNSEALS NAMES IN GHISLAINE MAXWELL LAWSUIT
FOX Business takes a look at some of the high-profile business figures named in this week's Epstein document release.
French modeling industry mogul Jean-Luc Brunel had a longstanding relationship with Epstein and Maxwell and received funds from Epstein to launch a new modeling agency that had clients who included numerous prominent retailers and fashion firms.
Giuffre alleged in court documents released four years ago that Brunel was among men who Maxwell directed her to have sex with while she was a minor caught in Epstein’s sex trafficking ring.
In one document filed on behalf of two Epstein accusers who remained anonymous as minor victims of sexual offenses, one claimed Epstein sexually trafficked her to Brunel and forced her "to have sex with Brunel on numerous occasions."
It further alleged Brunel used his role as a model scout to "bring young girls (ranging to ages as young as twelve) to the United States for sexual purposes and farm them out to his friends, especially Epstein."
Brunel died of an apparent suicide before his 2022 trial in France on child rape charges.
JEFFREY EPSTEIN DOCUMENTS NAME A-LIST CELEBRITIES
Billionaire hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin had a close relationship with Epstein, who invested in his firm and helped facilitate its acquisition by JPMorgan. Dubin’s wife, Eva Andersson Dubin, once dated Epstein.
Giuffre alleged Maxwell directed her to have sex with Dubin, although she did not state that she had sex with him. Additionally, one document indicated Dubin’s private chef, Rinaldo Rizzo, alleged that Epstein and Maxwell once visited Dubin’s house with a disoriented, 15-year-old Swedish girl who told him the couple had asked her for sex and that her passport had been taken.
In documents from her depositions, Maxwell denied instructing Giuffre to have sex with anyone and said she knew Dubin as the husband of Eva and declined to elaborate further on the relationship.
Dubin did not respond to a request for comment for this story. Dubin and his wife have previously denied any knowledge of Epstein’s behavior and disputed that the alleged incident involving the Swedish 15-year-old occurred.
JEFFREY EPSTEIN DOCUMENTS: FIVE REVELATIONS IN GHISLAINE MAXWELL LAWSUIT
Billionaire hotel magnate Tom Pritzker, whose family fortune was made largely through the growth of the Hyatt Hotels brand, was linked to Epstein’s sex ring through one of the court documents. In a May 2016 deposition of Giuffre, she was asked by an attorney, "All right, if I were to ask you the question how many times you had sex with Tom Pritzker, do you know what that question means?"
"I believe so," Giuffre responded, which prompted the attorney to inquire, "All right, what is the answer to that question?"
"I believe I was with Tom once," Giuffre said.
The allegation by Giuffre against Pritzker was first revealed in 2019 with the unsealing of another set of court documents. The Miami Herald reported at the time that Giuffre alleged she was sent overseas to "have sex with the owner of a large hotel chain." At the time, Pritzker was mentioned by name in a footnote, though the document didn't clarify that he was the hotel magnate mentioned.
In response to an inquiry from FOX Business, a spokesperson for Pritzker said, "This is the same false and isolated allegation that was published and vehemently denied more than four years ago. Mr. Pritzker continues to vehemently deny it."
EPSTEIN DOCS REVEAL HOTEL MAGNATE TOM PRITZKER, KIN OF DEMOCRATIC ILLINOIS GOV
Celebrity hairstylist and beauty industry mogul Frederic Fekkai was named in a 2016 deposition given by Sjoberg in Giuffre’s lawsuit against Maxwell.
Sjoberg said in the deposition she overheard Epstein discuss Fekkai’s presence in Hawaii and indicate he was trying to find girls for him: "I heard him call someone, and say, ‘Fekkai is in Hawaii. Can we find some girls for him?’"
Fekkai did not respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
JEFFREY EPSTEIN DOCUMENTS: SEE ALL 40 UNSEALED FILES IN GHISLAINE MAXWELL LAWSUIT
Billionaire Les Wexner, the founder of Limited Brands and former CEO of Victoria’s Secret, had a longstanding relationship with Epstein having hired him as his financial manager in the 1980s, a role Epstein held until 2007, when Wexner cut ties with him. Wexner later accused Epstein of having "misappropriated vast sums of money" from him in 2019, according to The New York Times.
In one of her depositions, Maxwell categorically denied providing "an outfit of a sexual nature" to Giuffre for her to wear for Wexner.
FOX Business reached out to Wexner through his foundation for comment. He has previously denied knowledge of the alleged incident, and in 2019 an attorney representing Epstein victims said it's unlikely Wexner was aware of Epstein's conduct.
In documents released Thursday, testimony showed Epstein recruited girls under the pretense of working for Victoria's Secret, a Florida detective said. Additionally, Wexner is listed as a person having knowledge of Epstein and Maxwell's "sexual trafficking conduct and interaction with underage minors."
In 2021, L Brands was split into Bed Bath & Body Works and Victoria's Secret. Both trade as separate entities.
Computer scientist Marvin Minsky, who focused much of his research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on artificial intelligence (AI), received a research grant from Epstein through MIT according to an investigation by the university.
According to one of the documents released Wednesday, Giuffre indicated in a 2016 deposition that Maxwell directed her to have sex with Minsky and others. Giuffre’s accusation against Minsky was previously reported as part of her 2015 defamation suit against Maxwell and in subsequent reports following Epstein’s death.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
Minsky died in January 2016 at the age of 88 after experiencing a cerebral hemorrhage. His widow disputed allegations that Minsky could have had sex with women at Epstein’s properties because she said she was always with him when they visited, according to a statement she provided to the New York Post in 2019.