Who was in Epstein's mansion? New photos show Donald Trump, MBS, Bill Clinton & Elon Musk
Newly released photos and documents obtained by The New York Times offer a rare look inside Jeffrey Epstein’s lavish Manhattan townhouse and reveal the extent to which the convicted sex offender flaunted his ties to global elites.
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. But the recently surfaced images show how he used his Upper East Side mansion, a sprawling 21,000-square-foot property once owned by billionaire Leslie Wexner, to host intimate dinners, display eccentric artwork, and preserve photo evidence of his powerful social network.
Among the framed images on display in Epstein’s office and elsewhere throughout the mansion were pictures of him with:
- Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince
- Bill Clinton, former US
- Donald Trump, US president, pictured with Melania Knauss (now Trump)
- Pope John Paul II, head of the Catholic Church (1978–2005)
- Elon Musk, tech billionaire and CEO of Tesla/X
- Mick Jagger, lead singer of The Rolling Stones
- Fidel Castro, former Cuban leader
- Stephen K. Bannon, former Trump adviser and far-right strategist
- Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder (a dollar bill signed by Gates saying “I was wrong!” was also on display)
- Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, CEO of DP World and a reported visitor to Epstein’s townhouse
Epstein’s connections were also celebrated in private birthday letters sent to him in 2016. Contributors included linguist Noam Chomsky, physicist Lawrence M. Krauss, media mogul Mortimer Zuckerman, filmmaker Woody Allen, Harvard biologist Martin Nowak, and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who called Epstein “A COLLECTOR OF PEOPLE.”
Photos also reveal disturbing elements of Epstein’s décor. One room featured prosthetic eyeballs in display cases; another had a sculpture of a woman in a bridal dress dangling from a noose. A massage room, the site of many alleged assaults, was filled with paintings of nude women, chains, lubricants, and a large silver ball. Though several victims have described hidden surveillance equipment at the mansion, no cameras were visible in photos reviewed by The Times.
Notably, a green first edition of Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita, the controversial novel about a paedophile’s obsession with a young girl, was prominently placed in Epstein’s office.
The new disclosures raise further questions about why so many high-profile figures continued to engage with Epstein long after he was registered as a sex offender in 2008. According to New York Times, some, like Barak and Chomsky, have since distanced themselves from him. Others, including Allen and Zuckerman, did not respond to media inquiries. Krauss told The Times he didn’t remember the letter but admitted attending “several lunches with very interesting discussions.”
The revelations also come amid political tension over Epstein’s legacy and ties to figures in the MAGA movement. Stephen Bannon reportedly filmed interviews with Epstein in the mansion in 2019. Meanwhile, speculation has swirled around the Justice Department’s handling of Epstein’s associates, including Ghislaine Maxwell, who was recently moved to a lower-security prison.