The notorious billionaire sex trafficker had a network reaching all over the world, including several links to New Zealand.
Billionaire Peter Thiel, Auckland university professor Brian Boyd and property managers Brice and Karen Gordon are among the New Zealanders who had close personal ties with child sex offender, serial rapist and human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. On one occasion, he discussed hiring an underage New Zealand model as entertainment for a party.
These connections were revealed when the US Justice Department publicly released more than three million emails, documents and image files seized as part of an ongoing investigation into Epstein and his associates.
It’s important to note that appearing in the Epstein files does not imply any wrongdoing.
The files contain thousands of references to New Zealand and New Zealanders – most of whom only appear in his emails because they’re featured in a news story or financial document. Examples include Jacinda Ardern, Winston Peters, Taika Waititi, Xero founder Rod Drury, discus thrower Beatrice Faumuina, and Spinoff contributors Toby Morris and Max Rashbrooke.
However, several other New Zealanders had ongoing contact with Epstein through professional or personal relationships. Most of the files released are from after 2008, when Epstein was convicted for soliciting underage prostitution, serving 13 months’ prison time, and had already faced several high-profile criminal and media investigations.
The model
A 16-year-old New Zealand model, who The Spinoff has chosen not to name, was in Paris in 2015 with a fellow model when they met with a man named Daniel Siad near the Champs-Élysées. Siad appears to have been a key associate of Epstein’s and invited them to one of his parties in New York.
One of the girls followed up with Siad, sending him a link to her and her friend’s modelling profiles. Siad forwarded the email to Epstein, saying: “Hello Jeffrey what do you think about those models for NY”. Epstein apparently thought they looked too old, replying: “most of these girls would have been good 5 years ago. you need to find new.”
The professor
Jeffrey Epstein was obsessed with the novel Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, a critically acclaimed but deeply controversial book told from the perspective of a paedophile who falls in love with a young girl.
Epstein displayed quotes from the book around his house. He ordered a vintage edition from Amazon. He owned a copy of the audiobook, read by Jeremy Irons. He discussed the novel with friends and recommended it to anyone who would listen. His private jet was famously nicknamed the Lolita Express, and his preference in women was described by those who knew him as the “Lolita type”.
Epstein was so fascinated that he started researching to learn more about its author. In 2009, he emailed an unknown person saying: “could you research and find the best nabokv [sic] scholar at any university.”
It seems he found the answer in Brian Boyd of the University of Auckland, a literature professor who has written extensively about Nabokov’s life and works.
Epstein became very interested in Boyd. He attended some of Boyd’s public talks and invited him to a “smart day” at Harvard with other big-name academics, including economist Larry Summers, linguist Noam Chomsky, psychologist Howard Gardner and mathematician Steve Wolfram. They discussed attending a Nabokov conference in Paris together.
When Epstein visited an art museum with film director Woody Allen, who has been accused of, and denies, sexually assaulting minors, he wrote to Boyd to say: “Thought of you today”.
Epstein wanted to provide funding for Boyd to write a book about the making of Lolita. They had several meetings in person and on Skype. In an email chain from July 2012, Boyd initially suggested he would need $50,000 to write the book. Epstein thought that wasn’t enough and offered $75,000. After thinking about it further, Boyd suggested that he might need more: “To do the book in a year I’d really need to take a full year of unpaid leave and be free of all university obligations here. So that’s just for you to reflect on.” He sent through his bank details and Swift code for international transfers.
Excited about the book, Epstein wrote to Katherine Keating, daughter of the former Australian prime minister Paul Keating, saying: “I am funding an author, who is the biographer of Nabokov, who is now doing a full work on [philosopher Karl] popper. I think [investor George] soros would like it”. He added: “his name is Brian Boyd.. new zealand professor”.
The following year, Epstein had discussions with a friend about making a movie about how Nabokov wrote Lolita.
Neither the book or movie ever eventuated. Boyd told Newsroom, “I know I didn’t do anything wrong. I was just glad not to have been caught in a sticky web, you know, by being financially associated with him.”
The billionaire
Peter Thiel, the billionaire founder of Paypal and early investor in Facebook who, controversially, became a New Zealand citizen in 2011, was in regular contact with Epstein for years. They exchanged emails, planned meetings, discussed future parties and invited each other on trips. Epstein invested $40 million in a firm co-founded by Thiel.
Epstein invited Thiel to visit his private island with former Norwegian prime minister Thorbjorn Jagland, to Santa Fe with philosopher Noam Chomsky, and to a dinner with Woody Allen. Epstein tried to connect Thiel with other powerful people, including Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, and former Qatari prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani.
Before one breakfast meeting with Epstein, Thiel had his executive assistant Alisa Bekins send a three-page list of dietary requirements, which has been redacted.
Epstein spoke highly of Thiel to other people. After one party, he wrote to venture capitalist Joi Ito, “peter thiel came last night, fun”. He told Russian investor Masha Drokova: “I met with peter thiel, he is great”.
However, when former US treasury secretary Larry Summers speculated that Donald Trump could pick Thiel to lead the treasury in 2016, Epstein dismissed the idea with a damning opinion: “peter thiel autistic, no global sense”.
The managers
New Zealanders Brice and Karen Gordon were two of Epstein’s most trusted and longest-serving staff members. They worked for him as the managers of his sprawling ranch in New Mexico and later as the managers of his private island resort on Little St James, where they lived. In 2011, Epstein granted limited power of attorney to Brice Gordon to handle some of his affairs in New Mexico.
Emails show the pair were diligent employees, responsible for ordering supplies and food for guests, organising maintenance, and dealing with contractors for construction work.
The couple returned to New Zealand several times for holidays and family duties. In 2012, Epstein offered to pay $14,000 for their return flights to New Zealand, and in 2013 urged them to take a trip to Auckland, saying “you deserve a vacation”.
There is little information about the Gordons available online. Their names appear on previous property records in Auckland, Dunedin and Christchurch. In July 2014, Brice told Epstein he had sold his house in New Zealand and “We plan to go to Jackson Hole, WY and hide in a cabin in the woods with the bears”.
The university
Canadian-American theoretical physicist and cosmologist Lawrence Krauss was a close friend of Jeffrey Epstein’s, and a huge fan of New Zealand. He visited New Zealand several times and repeatedly urged Epstein to join him.
“I am very excited about going to New Zealand,” he told Epstein in 2010. Two years later, he was still banging on about it. “[I] want to take you to new zealand sometime,” he wrote. On another occasion: “I am looking into my fall travel and I don’t know if you were serious about maybe taking a few days to go to new zealand.” He proposed an itinerary for a “freedom trip” where they would “spend 4-5 days in NZ, depending upon your druthers.. starting in south, then glacier, then ending in Auckland.” It’s unclear if the trip ever went ahead.
In 2012, Krauss decided he wanted to move to New Zealand. First, he asked Epstein for advice: “new zealand… any ideas on how I can spend 6 months there a year? Wanna consider an institute?”. Then he reached out to senior staff at the University of Otago in the hopes of securing a job for himself and partner Nancy Dahl-Tacconi.
Krauss is a big name in the scientific world, so university management showed immediate interest. Initial discussions with University of Otago vice-chancellor Harlene Hayne seemed positive. However, Hayne eventually told him that government funding cuts meant they could not afford to add any new roles.
Krauss told Hayne the news was “pretty devastating” and offered an alternative: “if I can get private funding to fund the positions for at least a year, and maybe two, would you consider this?” He suggested that a foundation might provide US$250,000 per year for two years to support his salary and a research program. Hayne was “cautiously optimistic about the idea”.
He never revealed to the university that the private funder he had in mind was Jeffrey Epstein. He forwarded the emails to Epstein, saying he “would love to talk” about the idea, and strangely added that he was “just with Cameron Diaz in my hotel room”.
Epstein wasn’t a fan. “re new zealand, I can’t get behind it”, he said. Krauss replied, “pity.. I had hoped I could convince you it would be win-win— a great place to have a retreat once a year or so”.
The sailors
Many of the references to New Zealand in the Epstein files related to yachts and sailors. There is a scanned copy of a New Zealand passport belonging to Philip Anthony Baker, and New Zealand immigration documents for his partner Myla Trestiza, who appear to have been hired as staff to crew a luxury yacht. They don’t appear to have had much contact with Epstein. Most of their communications are with Epstein’s accountant Richard Kahn and involve various travel arrangements and employment dealings.
Epstein’s yacht The Dancing Hare was moored in Westmere, Auckland for several years. In 2009, he discussed buying the catamaran Kokomo, built by Alloy Yachts in New Zealand, and in 2014 he emailed Google co-founder Larry Page about a sailing trip: “I would like to take you up on your invitation to test your new zealand catamaran. next step?”
The mysteries
There are several other mentions of New Zealand and New Zealanders which raise more questions than answers.
A woman whose name has been redacted emailed him in 2010 saying: “New Zealand looked cute today. [Name redacted] is 19 but I look younger than her. I like [name redacted] more… Will ask her out this week. So nice to become not fat again, easier to make friends cause no one wants to hang out with fat girl(( miss u Such a snow storm here!!! Crazy!! Going to work soon) kiss.”
In 2017, Epstein offered to buy an unknown person a round-the-world trip for their birthday or chanukah. They responded: “What about New Zealand, Bora Bora, or Bali?”. “Whatever you prefer, as always,” Epstein replied.
In 2018, British neurophysiologist Peter Fenwick, an expert on death and human consciousness, told Epstein he was in New Zealand giving expert evidence in court. A man named Peter (presumably Fenwick) attended the Banksy exhibition at the Aotea Centre in Auckland and sent some photos to Epstein. “Some Banksy painting to amuse you” he wrote. When he received nothing back, he followed up: “Did you enjoy Banksy?” Epstein didn’t reply.
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