Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg is an American businessman and programmer who co-founded Facebook — now Meta Platforms — in 2004 and serves as its chairman and chief executive officer. He is also known for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a philanthropic effort he runs with his wife, Priscilla Chan.

Zuckerberg does not appear as his own subject in the Epstein files. His name surfaces only in connection with other people — specifically MIT neuroscientist Edward Boyden and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. Reporting on the released files indicates that the only documented reference is to a photograph that Epstein “sent himself” showing attendees including Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg, and Priscilla Chan. That reporting presents no evidence of direct contact or correspondence between Zuckerberg and Epstein.

The underlying event was an August 2015 dinner in Palo Alto, California, hosted by Reid Hoffman to honor Boyden, which Epstein attended, according to reporting by The Daily Beast based on Department of Justice document releases. The Daily Beast reported that in an email dated August 20, 2015, sent to billionaire Tom Pritzker, Epstein described the gathering as “wild,” and that Epstein had sent himself a photo of the attendees on August 3, 2015. The Daily Beast reported that the documents were released by the Department of Justice in early 2026.

Asked about the dinner, Zuckerberg’s representatives told The Daily Beast: “Mark met Epstein in passing one time at a dinner honoring scientists that was not organized by Epstein,” adding that “Mark did not communicate with Epstein again following the dinner.”

Is Mark Zuckerberg in the Epstein files?

Mark Zuckerberg is referenced in the Epstein files, but only indirectly. He is not a subject of the files in his own right and is mentioned solely in connection with Edward Boyden and Reid Hoffman, in relation to a single August 2015 dinner in Palo Alto that Epstein also attended and photographed. The Daily Beast, citing Department of Justice document releases, reported that Epstein described the dinner as “wild” in an August 20, 2015 email and kept a photo of the attendees, and that Zuckerberg’s representatives said Mark met Epstein in passing one time and did not communicate with him again afterward. Being named or appearing in these documents is not evidence of any crime or wrongdoing; people are referenced in many contexts — including correspondence, photographs, and passing mentions by third parties — and an indirect reference of this kind does not establish a personal relationship.

Documents

Primary-source records that reference Mark Zuckerberg. Inclusion in these documents is not, by itself, evidence of wrongdoing; Zuckerberg is referenced only indirectly — via a photograph and within other people’s entries — and his representatives say he met Epstein in passing once and had no further contact.

• DOJ Epstein Files (EFTA release) — Among the Department of Justice’s release of Epstein records is a photograph Epstein sent himself (dated August 3, 2015) showing attendees at an August 2015 Palo Alto dinner, including Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, and an August 20, 2015 email in which Epstein described the gathering as “wild.” Zuckerberg is not the subject of any direct correspondence in the material. The Daily Beast reported these items from the DOJ release.