Thiel and Jeffrey Epstein

Thiel has said Reid Hoffman introduced him to Epstein in 2014; his representative told CNBC he never visited Epstein’s island. [1]

The Stanford Daily, reading the January 2026 release, reported a June 2014 email in which Thiel wrote: “I *never* question your judgment on tax-related issues,” and Epstein’s invitations to his island. Thiel’s spokesperson said he never went. [2]

WIRED counted 2,281 files mentioning Thiel, most about scheduling, and quoted Epstein’s May 2016 offer to share the costs of the Gawker litigation. A 2016 email listing Thiel’s dietary restrictions went viral. [3][6]

NBC reported a lunch with Thiel on Epstein’s calendar for November 2017 and quoted Thiel’s 2023 remark to the Wall Street Journal: “I was rather naive.” [4]

The Times reported that Epstein put $40 million into two Valar Ventures funds in 2015 and 2016; Valar, co-founded by Thiel, said the stake was worth nearly $170 million. [5]

NBC noted that appearing in the files is not evidence of wrongdoing. [7]

The released emails include invitations. The Stanford Daily reported Thiel once replied asking when Epstein would be there. His spokesperson says he never visited. [1][2]

The New York Post, from the right, reported a 2015 email in which Epstein boasted of a “wild” Palo Alto dinner with Mark Zuckerberg and Reid Hoffman that also named Thiel and Musk. The Week summarized the emails and his response. [3][4]