Newly released Department of Justice files show Jeffrey Epstein urged Canadian-American media and real estate magnate Mortimer Zuckerman to give up control of his financial affairs, citing concerns that Zuckerman’s cognitive decline had become “serious and potentially dangerous.” The documents depict Epstein, the late convicted sex offender, as a long-standing business associate and confidant with access to intimate details of the billionaire’s life.
According to the files, after an October 2015 meeting that included Zuckerman and Norwegian diplomat Terje Rod-Larsen, Epstein emailed Zuckerman recommending he enter a guardianship or conservatorship “for your own protection.” Epstein wrote that friends, including himself, were worried Zuckerman’s cognitive impairment had reached a dangerous level and raised concerns for his financial, emotional, physical and psychological safety. He urged Zuckerman to grant trusted people — naming Rod-Larsen, Zuckerman’s nephews and “anyone else you trust” — authority to manage his affairs, warning that Zuckerman’s past abilities might no longer be sufficient and that delaying action could lead to a court-imposed solution.
Zuckerman thanked Epstein for his “thoughtfulness and friendship” and asked for recommendations for a lawyer experienced in such matters. Epstein advised canceling a planned trip to San Francisco and selecting a guardian while Zuckerman’s “judgment peeks through the haze,” according to the emails.
Epstein also exchanged messages with Zuckerman’s nephew, Eric Gertler, suggesting steps to oversee sales of stocks, art, a helicopter and a plane, and noting his own expertise on financial matters while attributing other recommendations to specialists. It is not clear from the released records whether Zuckerman followed Epstein’s advice.
Roughly six months after the correspondence, Zuckerman stepped down as chairman of Boston Properties and became chairman emeritus; he did not cite health reasons at the time. Representatives for the Zuckerman Institute, the Zuckerman STEM Leadership Program and Gertler did not respond to requests for comment, according to the report.
The files also outline earlier business ties between Epstein and Zuckerman. They partnered in a 2003 bid to buy New York magazine and invested together in a 2004 relaunch of Radar magazine. DOJ disclosures released in January described Epstein as viewing Zuckerman as a client, close associate and business partner. In 2013 Epstein pitched a $21 million plan offering estate-planning and related services to Zuckerman; the records do not indicate whether that proposal was accepted. The files further say Epstein pressured Zuckerman in 2009 to influence coverage of allegations of Epstein’s sexual abuse in the New York Daily News.
Epstein died in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.