Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Howard Lutnick face new scrutiny over Epstein ties

New files suggest the men had more extensive contact with Epstein than previously known.Published On 31 Jan 2026Newly released investigative files concerning the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have cast more scrutiny on his connections with some of the US’s wealthiest and most powerful men, including moguls Bill Gates and Elon Musk.The tranche of documents released by the US Department of Justice on Friday comes more than a month after the December 19 deadline set in legislation for all the Epstein-related documents to be published.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3The Me Too movement in the age of Trump and Epsteinlist 2 of 3‘Slap in the face’: Epstein victims slam release of heavily-redacted fileslist 3 of 3Epstein files: Whose names and photos are in the latest document drop?end of listThe release spanning 3 million pages has cast a spotlight on two of the world’s richest men – Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Tesla founder Elon Musk – both of whom previously downplayed their connections to Epstein.In a draft email included among the documents, Epstein alleged Gates had engaged in extramarital affairs and sought his help procuring drugs “to deal with consequences of sex with Russian girls.” It was not clear if Epstein sent the email.The Gates Foundation, in a statement to The New York Times, denied the allegations of affairs as “absolutely absurd and completely false”.Emails from Tesla founder Elon Musk to Epstein show Musk actively pursuing several visits to Epstein’s private Caribbean island between 2012 and 2013, years after Epstein had been convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor. In one exchange in 2012, Musk writes: “What day/night will be the wildest party on your island?”One planned meeting with Musk in 2013 appears to have been cancelled by Epstein due to scheduling. The emails do not indicate that Musk ultimately visited Epstein’s island, but challenge previous Musk claims that he is the one to have rebuffed Epstein’s invitations.