College Affiliates Mentioned in Epstein Files

Following the Justice Department’s release of files concerning American financier Jeffrey Epstein in January, several universities have experienced intense scrutiny for their ties to the late convicted sex trafficker. Harvard University’s former president Larry Summers, for instance, recently resigned from his professorship over his ties with Epstein. Columbia University’s Nobel prize laureate Richard Axel also resigned after his long-time friendship with Epstein was revealed.

Little has been released, however, about connections Amherst-affiliates may have had with Epstein. The Student reviewed the files and found several alumni and Board of Trustees members who were in frequent contact with Epstein or mentioned in the files. While certain Amherst-associated figures are featured, we have only included the most relevant and related cases. 

Jide J. Zeitlin ’85, Former CEO of Tapestry and Board of Trustees Emeritus 

Currently co-chairman and co-CEO of acacia blue, which describes itself as “a special purpose acquisition platform,” Zeitlin graduated from Amherst in 1985 magna cum laude with a double major in English and economics. He would later go on to earn his MBA from Harvard University in 1987. According to his LinkedIn, Zeitlin worked at Goldman Sachs until 2006 after receiving his MBA. He then joined Tapestry, the parent company of Coach and Kate Spade, and became its CEO in Sept. 2019.

Once noted for being one of a few African Fortune 500 CEOs, Zeitlin is perhaps most famous for resigning from his post at Tapestry in 2020 — just four months after extending his contract for three years — for allegedly “posing as a photographer under an alias to lure [his victim] into a romantic relationship” in an incident unrelated to Epstein. Coverage of this scheme describes Zeitlin’s actions, “Working under an alias, he took photos, many sexual, at least some involving nudity, of women in a studio just feet from where his wife and children lived.” 

Prior to this incident, Zeitlin’s personal and business track record had been the subject of considerable suspicion: In 2009, Zeitlin was nominated by the Obama administration to serve as the “Representative of the United States to the United Nations for U.N. Management and Reform.” As part of this process, Zeitlin sat for questioning by the U.S. Senate, during which an article published by The Washington Post exposed some of Zeitlin’s failed business investments. But the hearing produced no questions about Zeitlin’s personal misgivings, which had not yet surfaced publicly.

Zeitlin withdrew his bid for the United Nations role in 2009, citing “personal reasons.” Some news outlets associate this development as related to a victim of Zeitlin’s photography scheme beginning to speak up about their relationship with him. There is no evidence that Zeitlin’s behavior is related to Epstein’s larger sex-trafficking plots. 

A search for “Jide Zeitlin” on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Epstein library returns at least 300 items. The items cover a wide range of messages between Zeitlin and Epstein between 2018 and 2019, from brief emails about calling availability, to discussions with figures such as the former Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment of Nigeria Okechukwu Enelamah. Zeitlin was in contact with Epstein up to late April 2019, three months before Epstein was arrested for a second time in July. Epstein was arrested for the first time in 2006 for soliciting prostitution. 

During one email exchange with Steve Bannon — the executive and former White House Chief Strategist under Trump and previous coworker to Zeitlin at Goldman Sachs — on Feb. 23, 2018, Epstein wrote that “jide, I know who you are. no need for credentials. if you are free call now.” After a meeting between the two later in New York, Zeitlin wrote to Epstein on April 24, “You are a fascinating person, Jeffrey, but you know that…” In the same message, Zeitlin later referred to classmate and “Infinite Jest” writer David Foster Wallace ’85 as “a long ago friend.” Zeitlin attached a quote from Wallace that he thought Epstein would resonate with, including the rationale, “David used to talk about the ‘truth’ the way you talk about having fun.”

In June 2018, Zeitlin and Epstein also exchanged several emails with Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem (referred to as “Sultan bin Sulayem”), the former CEO of DP World, a Dubai-based logistics company known for its dominance in the cargo shipping industry. 

Epstein had introduced Zeitlin — who has several political connections in Nigeria — to Sulayem in May 2018; in June of that same year, Sulayem and Zeitlin discussed using DP World to “invest in Nigeria.” Several years later, in 2022, DP World acquired a controlling stake in Africa FMCG Distribution, a Nigerian distribution company. While Sulayem resigned from his post at DP World earlier this February because of his ties to Epstein, the company still has plans to continue investing in Nigeria’s infrastructure. 

Zeitlin is listed on the Board of Trustees website as one of three Chair Emeriti, along with  Cullen Murphy ’74 and Andrew J. Nussbaum ’85.

Uhuru Kenyatta ’85, former President of Kenya

The fourth president of Kenya, serving 2013 to 2022, Kenyatta graduated from Amherst College in 1985 with a degree in political science and economics. Though the files indicate that Epstein was familiar with Kenyatta, there is no evidence of wrongdoing by the latter.

There are no documents featuring direct communication between Epstein and Kenyatta, but there are multiple correspondences between Sulayem and Epstein about Kenyatta. Kenyatta’s first mention in the files appears on April 9, 2013, in which Epstein asked Sulayem if he had plans in New York, to which Sulayem said, “I am in Nairobi attending the inauguration of Uhuru Kenyatta as a president of Kenya whom I know very well.” To this, Epstein responded, “great guy, lets vist there toghetr in june.”

In June of that same year, travel records indicate that Epstein was in Kenya from the second to the 11th of the month. There is no evidence that Epstein and Kenyatta met while he was in Kenya in 2013.

Epstein did boast in an email to Sulayem a year later in October of 2014 that, “I am in Mombasa had a three hour meeting with president Uhuru Kenyata we are going to build a big logistic park to serve Kenya south Sudan Uganda central African republic and Rawanda Sultan.” According to Pulse Kenya, “independent investigators and Kenyan authorities have found no official records to corroborate Epstein’s claim of a meeting with President Kenyatta.” 

Howard Gardner, Harvard University Professor and Trustee Emeritus 

Harvard’s John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Research Professor of Cognition and Education Howard Gardner graduated from Harvard College in 1967 with a degree in social relations. He obtained his Ph.D in developmental psychology from Harvard in 1971. Gardner may be best known for coining the theory of multiple intelligences in his 1983 book, “Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences.” 

Gardner’s other honors include “a MacArthur Prize Fellowship, the University of Louisville’s Grawemeyer Award in Education and a fellowship from the John S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.” He was co-director of Harvard’s Project Zero before retiring in 2023, where he is now listed as a Principal Investigator and Senior Director. Project Zero is a research group — whose initial purpose “was to carry out fundamental research on education in the arts” — now covers areas beyond art, such as schools and museums.

According to The Harvard Crimson, Gardner — among several other Harvard professors — was in sustained contact with Epstein after his 2006 indictment. The Crimson reported that Gardner had told Epstein to “‘take a deep breath’ and ‘take one day at a time.’” 

A search for “Howard Gardner” returns 389 results on the DOJ’s Epstein Library, detailing a history between Gardner and Epstein going as far back as 2000. Several invoice summaries indicate that Epstein had sent Gardner and other individuals several FedEx envelope packages between 2000 and 2005. It is not clear what was inside these packages. Some of the individuals who received the packages included Sandy Berger, formerly the 49th National Security Advisor for President Bill Clinton (1997-2001); Tom Foley, formerly the 49th Speaker of the House of Representatives (1989-1995); and Alan Dershowitz, who would later negotiate Epstein’s non-prosecution agreement in 2006.

While Gardner explained to The Crimson that “‘Once [Epstein] had been arrested, I made it clear to him that I could no longer accept any funding but, as a friend and beneficiary of his philanthropy, I tried to be supportive,’” there is evidence that Gardner sustained contact with Epstein up to at least 2014. In a Sept. 2010 email sent from Lesley Groff — one of Epstein’s personal assistants — to Epstein, Groff wrote that “Howard Gardner will be around on Sunday and would love to see you. He is free all day however deep in the midst of his manuscript. He would like to meet for an hour at a mutually convenient place (he even said you could go to his home if you wished).” 

In an April 2011 email, Gardner responded to a redacted correspondent reaching out on behalf of Epstein’s request to meet, saying, “I’d like to see Jeffrey, if possible, alone. Not that I am going to be asking for anything, but rather when there is a crowd around, the dynamics become different...” Three years later, in a May 2014 email, Groff wrote to Epstein that, “Howard Gardner called to catch up […] Howard would love to speak with you and is available up to 10:30am today…” 

Gardner was appointed on the Amherst College Board of Trustees after 2008 for a six-year term “ending June 30, 2015.” Gardner is now listed among the trustee emeriti on the college’s website. Other than his trusteeship, Gardner has no clear affiliation with Amherst College. 

Richard S. LeFrak ’67 H’98, CEO of LeFrak and Trustee Emeritus 

The current CEO and Chairman of the family-owned, multibillion dollar real estate firm, LeFrak graduated from Amherst in 1967 with an economics degree. Afterwards, LeFrak earned his J.D. from Columbia Law School. He joined the family company — which was chaired by his father, Samuel J. Lefrak — in 1968, and was appointed its president in 1975. After his father passed away in 2003, Richard was appointed CEO and Chairman of the company. 

According to a 2020 Forbes report, the LeFrak company is “one of the largest real estate developers in the New York area,” and owns at least “hundreds of acres across from Manhattan to Newport, N.J.” The LeFrak company is credited with developing Newport from what The New York Times described in 2012 as once “a rusting railroad yard and some sagging warehouses on the decaying west bank of the Hudson River” to “a 600-acre neighborhood that already has 8 office buildings, 13 apartment towers, 2 hotels, a marina, schools, a retail mall and parks.”

Amherst students and staff may be familiar with the LeFrak name because of LeFrak Gymnasium, which was damaged in a 1985 fire before it was rebuilt with the support of LeFrak and the Richard and Karen LeFrak Charitable Foundation. While LeFrak is listed as a Trustee Emeritus on the college’s website, he also holds several other positions, having served as a board member for the Randall’s Island Sports Foundation and New York State Banking Department. He has also served as a trustee at the American Museum of Natural History, Trinity School, and the Prostate Cancer Foundation. 

According to the files, LeFrak was listed as a guest at several dinners and gatherings where Epstein was an invitee between 2010 and 2016. In an Aug. 2010 email sent to Epstein with the subject, “YES LIST - WALL STREET”, the LeFraks were listed as “Mr. & Mrs. Richard S. LeFrak ( Karen ) / 400/ BUSINESS/ LI/ LEFRAK ORGANIZATION/ GOTH/”. Other notable guests included philanthropist Francine LeFrak, sister-in-law of Richard and Karen LeFrak, American broadcaster Christopher Cuomo, then-New York Times executive editor Bill Keller, and co-founder of the British luxury fashion house Jimmy Choo, Tamara Mellon. 

LeFrak was also listed as a guest at a dinner hosted by British aristocrat William Astor in Sept. 2010, to which Epstein was also invited. It is not clear if Epstein attended. Other guests included President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Federal Reserve chair, Kevin Warsh, whose appearance in the list stirred controversy earlier this January. 

LeFrak was invited to another dinner with Epstein in Dec. 2010. Publicist Peggy Siegal, Epstein’s close friend, and the sender of many such emails, noted that he was “waiting to hear from Richard LeFrak […] Richard wants to come..he is checking with Karen [LeFrak].” However, LeFrak ultimately did not attend. Other invitees included Woody and Soon-Yi Allen. In a previous November 2010 email, Siegal noted that Allen — who has had a longtime friendship with Epstein — was “very friendly with Richard LeFrak.” She explained that “the more friends of Woody’s you can get, then he will come.” According to a Variety article, Siegal had “welcomed Epstein home from prison” after he was released in 2009. 

LeFrak would continue to be listed as a guest at parties where Epstein was invited, notably during July 2013, when he was listed as a guest at “Peggy Siegal[’s] Birthday Bash.” In July 2014, Siegal emailed Epstein explaining that she was “at karen/Richard Lefrak's for lunch.” The files indicate that Siegal continued to act as a mediary between LeFrak and Epstein’s social associations until at least March 2016, where Siegal wrote that she was “[g]oing to St. Petersberg April 6, 7, 8th with Blaine Trump/Steve Simon and Karen/Richard LeFrak.” Later, they were supposed to take “Richard's plane to either Vienna, Berlin or Moscow before the ballet.”

There is no indication that LeFrak was complicit with any of Epstein’s crimes despite his recurrent appearance in the Epstein files.

In light of the college affiliates whose names appeared in the Epstein files, the college explained in a statement to The Student that, “The Board of Trustees has discussed this issue and is seeking to learn more information. To that end, the College has engaged outside counsel to support our ongoing inquiry.”