The latest wave of Jeffrey Epstein’s email correspondence, released by the US Department of Justice last month, reveals the extent of the former financier’s connections in the worlds of fashion, beauty and wellness, which he often used as leverage to lure victims and exert power.
They also reveal the sex offender was an investor in Allergan Aesthetics, the makers of Botox, and was interested in funding “a personal genome project at Harvard” researching the genetic origins of beauty as well as research into designer babies.
Being mentioned in the files does not mean that a person had any knowledge of, or involvement in, Epstein’s crimes. This masthead is not suggesting any criminal wrongdoing on the part of those mentioned in the files, nor of any brands associated with such figures, just that their names appear.
The inclusion of some names in the files – including Estée Lauder chair Ronald Lauder and luxury skincare mogul Peter Thomas Roth – has led some online users to call for boycotts of their brands.
But Trent Rigby, director of Retail Customer Advisory, is sceptical about just how much of a dint boycotts will have in companies’ revenue and reputation.
“They generate a lot of noise, but they don’t really translate to any sort of material or major sales decline,” he says, explaining beauty tends to be a habit-driven category with shoppers unlikely to withdraw support in the long term.
However, he thinks “founder-led” brands, are more likely to bear a stain, and the public will be looking to brands for how they respond.
Below are just a few of the high-profile names revealed in the files.
Leslie Wexner
Leslie Wexner, former CEO of lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret, has long been tied to Epstein.
The businessman, whom Epstein served as financial manager between 1987 and 2007, is also the co-founder and chair emeritus of Bath & Body Works and was responsible for making Abercrombie & Fitch a household name.
In 2009, Wexner was named by the FBI in a list of Epstein’s “10 co-conspirators”, alongside figures including Ghislaine Maxwell, Richard Kahn and modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel.
Outspoken victim Virginia Guiffre previously alleged Wexner as one of the men Epstein trafficked her to.
The 88-year-old last week told US congress he was “duped by a world-class conman”:
“I was naive, foolish, and gullible to put any trust in Jeffrey Epstein. He was a con man. And while I was conned, I have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide.”
Wexner has always maintained his innocence and has never been convicted for any crimes related to Epstein.
Ronald Lauder
Ronald Lauder, the sole heir to the Estée Lauder empire founded by his parents Estee and Joseph, appears in the files more than 900 times.
Estée Lauder Companies, an American multinational, is the second-largest cosmetics company in the world after L’Oréal and counts iconic brands such as Bobbi Brown, Clinique, La Mer, M.A.C and Jo Malone in its stable.
In 2014, Epstein set up an LLC for Lauder and investor Leon Black, enabling their shared ownership of a US$25 million ($35 million) painting.
The new spate of emails shows Lauder and Epstein’s staff set up lunches for the two men in 2017 but don’t reveal any relationship beyond a few social, philanthropic and business engagements.
Lauder, a close friend of US president Donald Trump, was also revealed in January to be the man who pushed for the acquisition of Greenland (Lauder has commercial holdings there).
Vera Wang
This is not the first time American fashion designer Vera Wang, best known for her wedding dresses, has been associated with Epstein.
An investigation by The Wall Street Journal published in 2023 revealed the designer appeared in Epstein’s schedule from 2013 to 2017, and that she was another high-powered industry insider whose name Epstein cited to lure in young victims.
Wang expressed regret over her relationship with Epstein at the time, telling WSJ: “I never knew he was using my name in any capacity, and it horrifies and repulses me to now hear that he did so.”
The new spate of emails shows communication continued between the two after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor, mainly in the form of requests via their assistants to call one another. They also reveal Epstein attended Wang’s fashion show in 2010 and that in 2013, he brought a bride to her showroom.
“Unfortunately, Vera is not available to meet up at the dress store today. I did request please be sure to let Vera know you have been asking and hoped to see her,” Epstein’s assistant Lesley Groff wrote to him.
Epstein also appears to have helped a member of the Agnellis, an Italian business dynasty, secure a summer internship in Vera Wang’s design team in June 2013.
Naomi Campbell
Naomi Campbell’s association with Epstein is not new. The British supermodel was allegedly close friends with Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell and was named by victim Virginia Giuffre when she first went public with her story.
Giuffre was photographed at Campbell’s 31st birthday party in Saint-Tropez in 2001, and in 2020, claimed Campbell was aware of Epstein’s abuse in a post on Twitter:
“You saw me at your parties, you saw me in Epstein’s homes, you saw me on the plane, you saw me get my haircut, you saw me on the streets, you watched me be abused. You saw me!” she wrote.
Another of Epstein’s victims, who was 15 when she met him, claimed he had promised to get her work at Victoria’s Secret and said he knew Campbell. The same victim said she had met with Campbell at Epstein’s private office.
However, the new suite of emails shed further light on the nature of their relationship, including that they continued correspondence after his 2008 conviction, that Campbell requested use of Epstein’s private jet and invited him to parties.
Campbell has maintained she had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal conduct, which her lawyer reiterated in a statement to The New York Times last week:
“Prior to Epstein’s 2019 arrest in New York, my client knew nothing about his appalling criminal conduct… If my client had ever encountered any young woman whom she thought was being victimised by Epstein, she would have personally taken immediate action to help her,” part of the statement read.
Campbell’s close friend and collaborator, the late designer Azzedine Alaïa, also appears in the emails, which indicate he scheduled a meeting with Epstein, Hermes CEO Axel Dumas and French-German banker Ariane de Rothschild in 2014.
Peter Thomas Roth
Luxury skincare mogul Peter Thomas Roth exchanged emails with Epstein between 2004 and 2018.
In an email sent to Ghislaine Maxwell in October 2007, following Epstein’s Florida indictment on one state felony charge of solicitation of prostitution but before his 2008 conviction, Roth wrote:
“Please tell Jeffery how very sorry Noreen and I are for him and how terrible we feel for him. We totally feel he was set up to be made an example of…how very sad for him and for all of us. Please also let him know we know he did nothing wrong and will always love him and be our friend for ever. If he ever needs anything from us, or if he needs us to do anything for him, please get in touch with us and we will ALWAYS be there for him. Anything! Promise…..XXOO Peter.”
Roth launched his eponymous brand in 1993, and quickly gained a reputation for his clinical, science-based approach to cosmetics, becoming the largest privately owned skincare brand in the US today.
In Australia, the brand is stocked at retailers including Adore Beauty and Sephora. This masthead has contacted both retailers to see if they will be pulling the brand from shelves, or have noticed any changes to sales. They had not responded at the time of publication.
Roth also seems to have visited Epstein at home, according to an email sent in September 2017 in which Epstein wrote, “Peter thomas roth is coming to my house to explain to all the girls about skin creams, cleansers and such”.
Afterwards, Roth sent 13 gift bags to Epstein.
In 2018, Roth emailed Epstein a link to an article headline, “Steve Bannon trying to get on disgraced Jeffrey Epstein’s good side.”
“Fun,” Epstein replied.
In a statement posted to Instagram on February 6, Roth denied “being present with him for any activity that was inappropriate”, or ever having attended any parties, flying on Epstein’s plane or visiting the island. He explained that Epstein had been his physics teacher in school and they stayed in touch in the decades that followed.
Peter Attia
Canadian-American “longevity guru” Peter Attia’s name appears more than 1800 times in the files, including in correspondence where he reviewed blood tests and MRI scans of Epstein and made appointments for meetings.
In one particularly crass email exchange from 2016, Attia wrote: “Pussy is, indeed, low carb. Still awaiting results on gluten content, though.”
In another, from 2015, with the subject line “got a fresh shipment”, Attia wrote: “The biggest problem with becoming friends with you? The life you lead is so outrageous, and yet I can’t tell a soul…”
Attia is known for his work in longevity medicine, and appeared in the 2022 series Limitless: With Chris Hemsworth, in which he told the Australian actor he carried a gene that leads to a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
On February 2, Attia shared an email he sent to employees on X, denying any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse:
“I was not involved in any criminal activity; My interactions with Epstein had nothing to do with his sexual abuse or exploitation of anyone; I was never on his plane, never on his island, and never present at any sex parties. That said, I apologise and regret putting myself in a position where emails, some of them embarrassing, tasteless, and indefensible, are now public, and that is on me. I accept that reality and the humiliation that comes with it.”
Deepak Chopra
In November, new age wellness guru Deepak Chopra’s name first appeared in email communications with Epstein. This new drop of documents reveals thousands more exchanges, including one February 2017 email in which Chopra appears to ask Epstein to accompany him to Israel.
“Come to Israel with us,” Chopra wrote.
“Relax and have fun with interesting people. [if] you want use a fake name . Bring your girls. It will be fun to have you. Love”
In another exchange a month later, Chopra wrote: “God is a construct. Cute girls are real.”
Epstein also asked in return of Chopra: “Did you find me a cute Israeli?”
In a statement posted to X (Twitter) on February 5, the 79-year-old said he was “deeply saddened by the suffering of the victims in this case.”
“I was never involved in, nor did I participate in, any criminal or exploitative conduct. Any contact I had was limited and unrelated to abusive activity. Some past email exchanges have surfaced that reflect poor judgment in tone. I regret that and understand how they read today, given what was publicly known at the time.”
Axel Dumas, Hermes CEO
Axel Dumas, CEO of luxury French house Hermes, dodged multiple attempts by Epstein to meet with him, according to the latest tranche of files.
Following their release, Dumas told Business of Fashion Epstein and Woody Allen showed up unannounced to one of the brand’s workshops on the outskirts of Paris.
Dumas also said he turned down a request to decorate Epstein’s private jet in 2012.
“I was a young leader at the time, in the middle of the LVMH affair [at the time the company was battling an attempt at a hostile takeover],” he said.
“Epstein already had a despicable reputation.”
The emails also reveal an affinity between Epstein and the heritage brand, including multiple purchases of luxury handbags for women in his circle.
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