A protest unfolded in Atlanta in October 2025, with demonstrators holding signs. This Monday, our journalist Jemima McEvoy was the first to report that venture capitalist Marta Buell had deep connections with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Their correspondence was disclosed among over 3 million documents made public by the U.S. Department of Justice last Friday. The files reveal that Buell (née Drokova, the name she used at the time) served as a public relations contact for Epstein; the two exchanged flirtatious text messages, and she sought his advice for her early-stage fund, Day One Ventures. This repository of emails and chat logs further corroborates the previously established fact that Epstein claimed, and attempted, to forge deep ties with the wealthy and powerful in Silicon Valley. In communications dating roughly from 2011 to 2018, he mentioned attending private dinners with tech elites, hosting meetings at his residences, and occasionally inviting them to his private island in the Caribbean. References to venture capitalists are abundant throughout the files: one set of emails shows bankers and other intermediaries writing to Epstein hoping he would invest in SpaceX; another details discussions with an associate about setting up a fund. In some instances, Epstein communicated directly and regularly with these tech figures. LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman is one such individual; he apologized on the platform X this Saturday for his "post-conviction interactions with Epstein." (Epstein died by suicide in 2019, having been convicted in Florida in 2008 for soliciting a minor.) Hoffman is mentioned over 2,600 times in the documents, including emails arranging Skype calls, meetings at a resort in the Los Angeles area, or simple check-ins on the financier's well-being. Founders Fund co-founder Peter Thiel is referenced more than 2,200 times, with records of email exchanges about meeting logistics. (A spokesperson for Thiel has previously stated he never visited Epstein's private island.) Other cases illustrate Epstein's attempts to leverage his network for further opportunities. For example, emails mention a 2011 meeting at Epstein's 71st Street New York residence involving the financier, London-based venture capitalist Ian Osborne, and Facebook early investor Yuri Milner. (Epstein later claimed in an email that Milner had visited his Paris apartment.) In a statement on Tuesday, DST Global confirmed that Osborne had provided advisory services for the group's fundraising and organized the two aforementioned meetings in August and September 2011. Through a spokesperson, Osborne acknowledged discussing investment opportunities with Epstein but stated Epstein never made any investments in his businesses. He apologized for his association with the deceased financier, saying, "I am deeply sorry for all those he harmed. It was a serious error in judgment, which I regret profoundly." Milner is mentioned over 140 times in the files, primarily in Epstein's own accounts, where he even referred to Milner as his friend. A spokesperson for Milner issued a statement: "Yuri Milner's only visits to any properties of Mr. Epstein were to his New York and Paris residences in August and September 2011. He did not visit any other properties. These meetings constituted the entirety of Mr. Milner's interactions, contact, and communications with Mr. Epstein." The spokesperson added that Milner was unaware of Epstein's 2008 criminal record at the time of the meetings. "Any assertions by Mr. Epstein of a close relationship with Yuri Milner or involvement in his business activities are entirely false and without any basis in fact." In another instance, Boris Nikolic, a former science advisor to Bill Gates, sent Epstein a draft proposal for a life sciences fund to be established with Milner. Nikolic and Epstein also discussed investing in the genomics startup Foundation Medicine, which completed a Series B round involving Milner and Gates. A DST spokesperson stated that Milner explored creating the fund but ultimately decided against it and was unaware Epstein had advised Nikolic on it. Epstein also provided career advice to a Microsoft executive who later joined Andreessen Horowitz. In 2013, Epstein engaged in multiple communications with former Microsoft executive Steven Sinofsky after his departure. Sinofsky wrote that he was "effectively a partner at Andreessen Horowitz." He referenced a dinner attended by Ben Horowitz, Marc Andreessen, Andreessen Horowitz partners Chris Dixon and Dick Costolo (then CEO of Twitter), Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg. In a 2013 email, Sinofsky also mentioned Andreessen Horowitz's interest in "the whole virtual currency space"—specifically Bitcoin. He wrote, "Not sure how to get you involved, but I bet you could help!" Sinofsky is mentioned over 1,400 times in the documents. He served as the head of Microsoft's Windows division from 2009 to 2012 and is currently a Board Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, representing the firm on the boards of its portfolio companies. Andreessen Horowitz did not respond to requests for comment.
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