Jeffrey Epstein files shed light on his vibrant Hamptons lifestyle – and the wealthy associates who accompanied him

On a Friday in July nearly five years to the day after being released from prison for soliciting sex from a child, financier Jeffrey Epstein embarked on a packed day in the Hamptons with some of the most powerful and influential people in America.

The overcast Long Island morning began when Epstein arrived at an East Hampton helipad aboard a helicopter owned by Andrew Farkas, a Manhattan real estate mogul who co-owned a marina with Epstein in St. Thomas, recently released Epstein-related documents show.

He ate breakfast in East Hampton with then-New York Daily News publisher Mort Zuckerman before meetings with billionaire private equity investor Leon Black and renowned Manhattan restaurateur Steve Hanson, Epstein emails show.

Then he attended a Southampton birthday party for Black's son, Ben, who recently took the helm of the little-known but powerful U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, which invests in development projects in lower- and middle-income countries.

While there has been extensive reporting on Epstein’s dalliances with the rich and powerful at his private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, his Upper East Side townhouse and Palm Beach, Florida, mansion, Epstein also had a vibrant but less-scrutinized life during occasional summer visits to Long Island.

Last month, the U.S. Justice Department released a trove of more than 3 million documents from Epstein’s files, following months of pressure from lawmakers to open its extensive files on the late financier, who was convicted of soliciting a child for prostitution. He was awaiting federal sentencing on sex trafficking charges when authorities said he died by suicide in a Manhattan jail cell.

Newsday reporters searched through tens of thousands of records to bring fresh attention to Epstein’s Gatsbyesque-life on Long Island, primarily in the Hamptons, and to his associations with current and former Island residents.

The private messages paint the picture of a billionaire who used his wealth, privilege and elite network of associates to continue his exclusive, jet-setting lifestyle — where he dined with business titans, famous writers, modeling agents, TV hosts and music producers — even after registering as a convicted sex offender in 2008.

Epstein's 2008 conviction, for which he served less than 13 months of an 18-month sentence, required him to register as a sex offender but did not have any travel restrictions.

Being named in the Epstein files does not establish guilt, as individuals often appear simply through email correspondence, contact information or other records referencing the disgraced sex offender.

The emails make frequent mentions of unnamed women who apparently had unfettered access to Hamptons residences that Epstein often borrowed from close associates.

A May 30, 2016, email to Epstein from a redacted name boasts of purchasing pink T-shirts reading "girls weekend" following time in the Hamptons. A July 5, 2012, email from Lesley Groff, Epstein’s longtime executive assistant, who did not respond to a request for comment, described plans for "the girls to all meet tomorrow for the heli to East Hampton." 

The emails reviewed by Newsday offer few details on the identities or ages of the women who joined Epstein in the Hamptons.

And while the Long Island documents do not implicate anyone in criminal behavior, they underscore how his wealth and connections in elite Hamptons social circles allowed the convicted sex offender to rebuild legitimacy in plain sight.

Private helicopter flights from the city and exclusive film screenings with Hollywood stars were frequent occurrences.

There was an invitation to a $2,500-per head fundraiser with 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, hosted by Manhattan supermarket magnate John Catsimatidis.

Epstein convened meetings with attorneys, authors and public relations gurus — during a time leading up to his second arrest on federal sex trafficking charges for allegedly abusing dozens of young girls before his 2019 suicide.

Some of the most well-known Epstein associates, including President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, tech billionaire Elon Musk, attorney Alan Dershowitz and the former Prince Andrew do not appear in the Long Island-centric emails.

But the names of other luminaries pepper the documents.

Some Epstein associates on Long Island have appeared on television, bookshelves, runways, at the White House and hobnobbing at awards shows with music royalty.

Others lead Fortune 500 companies, modeling agencies, hedge funds and contracting businesses.

Here are some of Epstein's Long Island connections:

Andrew Farkas, the billionaire founder of Island Capital, a Manhattan-based real estate bank, was in regular communication with Epstein, including about visits to the Hamptons. Farkas previously owned a home in Southampton while Island Capital once owned the Montauk Yacht Club. In emails, Epstein described Farkas as "one of the blessings in my life" and "one of the bravest men I've ever known." Records and photos show Farkas made visits to Epstein's private island. During a 2018 visit, Farkas emailed Epstein that he was still waiting on a "gift" and Epstein responded with a female's name. In a 2013 visit, Farkas asked Epstein to provide "a masseuse." Records show Epstein and Farkas co-owned a marina business in St. Thomas, where Epstein owned a private island since 1998. In a statement, a spokesman said Farkas "deeply regrets ever associating with Jeffrey Epstein."

Steve Hanson, a New York restaurateur whose properties include Blue Water Grill, Dos Caminos and Fiamma, was a close friend of Epstein's, and the men exchanged regular emails, records show. The two had regular meetings, took walks and shared meals together, often in the Hamptons, where Hanson owned a home. During a September 2011 visit, an Epstein assistant asked Hanson if he could pick up Epstein at a Hamptons airport and asked if he should land in East Hampton or Westhampton. Hanson responded to land in East Hampton as Westhampton "is like landing in Harlem." In a heavily redacted Aug. 8, 2012, email, an assistant says Hanson's private plane would pick up Epstein in the Hamptons "and off they go to the ranch," an apparent reference to Epstein's New Mexico property. Hanson declined to comment on his communication with Epstein.

Michael Borrico, the CEO of Certified Construction, a contracting firm that designs high-end commercial, residential and restaurant space, previously lived in Water Mill and appears a handful of times in the Epstein emails. In one exchange Borrico asks Ghislaine Maxwell, the jailed close associate of Epstein, if she is free to meet "in case you want to frolic around Madison Avenue with me at lunch time." When Maxwell responds that she is in Cuba, Borrico replies: "frolicking in havana sounds even better." In 2021, Maxwell was found guilty of helping Epstein run a sex-trafficking ring that preyed on young women and is serving a 20-year prison sentence. Another 2013 email references a construction project Epstein, Hanson and Borrico were working on together. Borrico's firm built Primehouse, a Hanson-owned steakhouse, records show. Borrico, a Hamptons polo enthusiast, did not respond to multiple requests for comment on his communication with Epstein.

Jean-Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent who opened two businesses with funding from Epstein, was a close associate of the late financier and appears in thousands of emails, including several referencing time spent in the Hamptons, records show. Brunel, who was arrested in 2020 as part of a French inquiry into the Epstein allegations, hanged himself in a prison cell in 2022. Brunel, who denied any wrongdoing before his death, visited Epstein's private island 25 times, records show, and Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein's primary accusers — who later took her own life — alleged she was forced to have sex with him. A 2019 Justice Department memo into Epstein co-conspirators states: "Brunel brought a young girl, who was about 15 years old, to Epstein's Virgin Islands residence." 

Michael Wolff, the Amagansett-based author, communicated regularly with Epstein, providing the sex offender with advice and media assistance. In a Nov. 11, 2013, email, Wolff described Epstein as "my good friend" who was looking for a new assistant. In a Feb. 25, 2011, email, Wolff tells Epstein he has been "defending you to the world's press — my pleasure, of course." And in a July 19, 2011, email, Wolff, who was reportedly working on a book about Epstein before his death, writes: "I’d personally have a sense of satisfaction in both helping you out and, in addition, figuring out the process here and striking a blow for reason and sense. It’s a kind of journalistic effort in reverse." Wolff did not respond to questions about his Epstein communication but told Newsday he never met with the financier on Long Island.

Leon Black, a private equity investor and former CEO of Apollo Global Management, who owns a home in Southampton, appears in thousands of Epstein emails, including dozens referencing trips to Long Island. "The Dechert law firm investigated and reviewed more than 60,000 documents, interviewed more than 20 people and concluded that Mr. Black paid Epstein for estate planning and tax advice and that he had no awareness of Epstein’s criminal activities," said a spokesman for Black, Whit Clay. "It is in this context that Epstein knew Mr. Black and his son, Ben." The probe found Black’s payments to Epstein totaled almost $160 million between 2012 and 2017. Black stepped down from Apollo in 2021. Black has been accused three times publicly of sexual assault, including in dismissed lawsuits by a Russian model and a woman who alleged he raped her at Epstein’s Manhattan home. A 2023 federal lawsuit accused Black of raping a 16-year-old girl with Down syndrome and autism at Epstein's townhouse. Black has denied all the allegations. The 2019 Justice Department memo says a masseuse provided Black with oral sex during a massage. In 2023, Black paid $62.5 million to the U.S. Virgin Islands to be released from potential legal claims related to its probe of Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation.

Mort Zuckerman, the former Daily News publisher and owner of U.S. News & World Report, was in regular contact with Epstein, including invitations for breakfast at Zuckerman's East Hampton home, records show. In an Oct. 9, 2009, email, Epstein attempted to pressure Zuckerman to alter coverage of Epstein's 2008 Florida conviction for soliciting prostitution. In the email, Epstein denied having sex with underage prostitutes — noting that he pleaded guilty to procuring and soliciting the girls but not intercourse — and adding that it "would be wrong" and "defamatory" to publish an attorney's accusations about the crimes. Zuckerman responded, "We r doing major editing over huge objections." Epstein replied that he wanted Maxwell removed from the coverage and thanked Zuckerman, who did not respond to repeated requests for comment about his communication with Epstein, for his help.

Dick Cavett, the 1960-70s talk show host, who until a few years ago owned the iconic Montauk home Tick Hall, dined regularly with Epstein at the financier's Manhattan home, records show. Emails in 2016 between the pair show Epstein would send a driver to pick up Cavett for lunch. Cavett asked Epstein to fund an unspecified project and pressed his assistant for answers on the prospective budget. "Sorry not trying to be a pest!" he wrote after asking about it again. Epstein invited Cavett for dinner at his East 71st Street townhouse with Woody Allen and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn, in January 2017, but the chat show host declined. Efforts to reach Cavett were unsuccessful.

Tommy Mottola, the former Sony Records CEO, Hofstra University student and ex-husband of Mariah Carey, carried on a decades-long friendship with Epstein, records show. Hundreds of emails, including several centered on the Hamptons, volley back and forth between the music mogul and Epstein — many with the message "Call me" or "Tried to call you." In other emails, Mottola attempted to get Epstein involved in a music festival and the two discuss the music app Spotify. Epstein tapped Mottola for the number of Latin music singer Enrique Iglesias after hearing the star wanted to sell his private jet, records show. Mottola occasionally expressed concern about Epstein’s health or mood and in 2011, sent Epstein a large box of Bridgewater Chocolates. The men were introduced around 2009 by Brunel, who told Epstein that Mottola "is going to attempt to be the entertainment czar of cuba ... you and tommy should meet." During a 2010 deposition, Epstein was asked if he'd ever socialized with Mottola and underage women. Epstein asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Mottola did not respond to requests for comment about his communications with Epstein.

Faith Kates, the Next Model Management co-founder, who grew up on Long Island, checked in with Epstein regularly, including after his 2008 conviction. Emails show Kates, whose agency once represented model Kate Upton, expressing support for Epstein after media attention built in March 2011, after an interview with Giuffre. Kates advised Epstein to "lay very low and quiet." In a March 4, 2022, email, Kates said: "I am sorry this is happening to you but you should know who your friends are ... know I always have your best interest at hand even if you don't listen." Kates told Epstein she "loved him like a brother" and suggested he think about philanthropic projects to keep his mind occupied while in self-imposed exile. "This will make people talk about you but in a positive way." On Thanksgiving Day 2017, Kates checked on Epstein to see whom he was celebrating with. Epstein responded: "david fizel. hanson. trump." Records showTrump spent that Thanksgiving, during his first term, at Mar-a-Lago.  “Epstein was a master manipulator," Kates spokesman Ken Frydman told Newsday when reached for comment on Kate's communication with Epstein. "People only knew what he wanted them to know. Ms. Kates was one of the people grossly misled by him. She was friends with Epstein and had a social relationship with him, but he did not reveal his sordid nature in any of her interactions with him. She believed the narrative about his Florida conviction that the government permitted Epstein to tell and she deeply regrets that she did. Had she known then what she — and everyone else — now knows, she would never have associated with him.”

Jes Staley, a former investment banker with JP Morgan and Barclays, who has a home in Southampton, had deep ties with Epstein. Staley shows up several times in Epstein’s daily schedule and the two discussed business deals in Brazil, records show. Staley and his wife also visited Epstein's island, records show. Staley appears in a 2019 FBI memo, written months after Epstein died, regarding a woman who had been interviewed about her work with Epstein as a masseuse. In 2010 or 2011, the woman told investigators she gave Staley a massage. "STALEY then forcefully put her hands on his crotch area. This ended in rough sex. [Redacted] told STALEY she did not want this. told STALEY that EPSTEIN wouldn't like this. STALEY said 'it's fine.'" The victim reportedly told Epstein about the incident, who declined to intervene. Staley was forced to resign from Barclays when his relationship with Epstein surfaced, and was later banned by a British banking regulatory agency from ever holding a senior management role in the financial services industry. Staley, who did not respond to requests for comment about his communication with Epstein, has long maintained that he and the late financier had a "close professional relationship" but were not friends.

Peggy Siegal, a Manhattan publicist and Hamptons mainstay, corresponded regularly with Epstein while he was on Long Island, documents indicate. Records show Siegal was present in December 2010 when Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, partied with Epstein two years after his guilty plea. When news of the event hit the gossip pages, Epstein seemed to hold Siegal responsible for the leak. "Not good for andrew, not good for me — not good for you," he wrote, attaching a Page Six article with the email. "I thought you told her those things off the record. not good for many reasons." In November 2017, the public relations professional and Epstein reflected on how he fit into the reckoning from the #MeToo movement. Epstein said: "charlie, harvey, brett. louis. . jeffrey is looking better and better L:)," referencing several high-profile individuals touched by scandal. She agreed. "I know!!!! The world is topsy turvey," she wrote. "That has been going on since the beginning of time (and that is not an excuse)." Siegal, who did not respond to requests for comment about her communication with Epstein, added that Epstein "suffered for a few years and now you are the least of this witch hunt."

Glenn Dubin, a co-founder of Highbridge Capital, appears in the files as a friend and business associate, including in messages sent while Epstein was in the Hamptons. Epstein was the godfather to Dubin’s children, and Dubin is named as an investor in a fund with Epstein going back to January 2006, two years before Epstein pleaded guilty to sex crimes with minors, records show. When JP Morgan bought Highbridge, Dubin reportedly paid Epstein a $15 million fee. Dubin’s wife, Eva Andersson-Dubin, a Swedish doctor and model, dated Epstein before the couple married in 1994, records show. Like Epstein, Dubin grew up in a working-class family, graduating from Stony Brook University, and has since donated generously to the school. The university’s 8,000-square-foot Dubin Family Athletic Performance Center carries his name. A 21-page FBI PowerPoint summarizing the Epstein investigation mentions Dubin under the "Prominent Names" page. “[Redacted] stated that Maxwell instructed her to give Dubin a massage and do what she did for Epstein," the note said. A family spokeswoman said that Dubin denies the claim. "When these allegations first surfaced almost seven years ago, the Dubins denied these defamatory claims, noting that they were disproved by contemporaneous flight and other records," Devon Spurgeon said. "Recent developments have definitively and publicly disproved Ms. Giuffre’s [Epstein's alleged victim] claims including the DOJ’s own analysis, released in the Epstein files, in which DOJ stated that Ms. Giuffre’s claims about being trafficked to men other than Epstein himself could not be corroborated despite their extensive investigation, and that many of Ms. Giuffre’s public statements were 'demonstrably inaccurate.' As the Dubins have said for years, they were horrified by the allegations against Jeffrey Epstein. Had they been aware of Epstein’s vile and unspeakable conduct, they would have cut off all ties long ago and certainly never allowed him to be in the presence of their children." 

Rich Kahn and Darren Indyke, Long Island attorneys who worked for Epstein for decades, setting up his Virgin Islands estate and helping him navigate legal issues, are mentioned repeatedly in the files. Both men were named as beneficiaries of Epstein's $600 million estate, with Indyke left $50 million and Kahn $25 million, though it’s unclear whether they would receive the money after litigation and a compensation fund that was established for victims. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has subpoenaed both men to testify on Epstein. The lawyers, along with the Epstein estate, settled a lawsuit in 2022 filed by the U.S. Virgin Islands under the territory’s sex trafficking, anti-criminal enterprise, fraud and child exploitation laws, agreeing to pay $105 million and forfeit Little St. James island, the private compound where investigators say some of the abuse occurred. "Not a single woman has ever accused Mr. Indyke or Mr. Kahn of committing sexual abuse or witnessing sexual abuse, nor claimed at any time that she reported to them any allegation of Mr. Epstein’s abuse," Dan Weiner, Indyke's lawyer, said in a statement. Weiner said the two attorneys have been working with the House committee and have turned over "thousands of pages of documents, photographs and other materials."

Howard Lutnick, the Jericho native and current U.S. commerce secretary, has been under fire and facing calls to resign in recent weeks for his dealings with Epstein and failing to disclose to Congress a visit to his private island. A Nov. 20, 2012, email from Groff, Epstein’s executive assistant, invited Lutnick, the former president and chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald, to Epstein's St. Thomas island "over the holidays." Lutnick told Congress he cut off ties with Epstein in 2005. But on Feb. 10, Lutnick said during a Senate hearing that he had "lunch with him, as I was on a boat going across on a family vacation." Lutnick, who records show also had business dealings with Epstein, insisted during the Senate hearing that he "barely had anything to do with that person." Lutnick and Epstein were also previously neighbors in Manhattan, records show. Other emails refer to meetings, calls and drinks with Epstein and a 2017 invitation to attend a Wall Street dinner in Lutnick's honor. Lutnick and Groff did not respond to requests for comment.