Mortimer Zuckerman

Mortimer Benjamin Zuckerman, born June 4, 1937, in Montreal, is a Canadian-American billionaire. He is the owner and editor-in-chief of U.S. News & World Report, and he owned the New York Daily News from 1993 until 2017. He is also co-founder and executive chairman of the real estate investment trust Boston Properties, and previously owned The Atlantic and Fast Company.

Zuckerman is named in reporting on the Jeffrey Epstein files in several documented contexts. The released files document that he contributed to a birthday book of letters for Jeffrey Epstein’s 50th birthday, and that he was identified as one of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients, paying Epstein millions of dollars for estate planning and financial services between 2013 and 2015. Al Jazeera, reporting on the released files, similarly describes a financial relationship in which Zuckerman in 2008 sought Epstein’s advice on passing on his estate — sharing sensitive financial details, including a copy of his will and an asset evaluation putting his net worth at $1.9 billion — and in which Epstein in 2013 proposed estate-planning services for a $30 million fee in June before offering a revised proposal of $21 million that December.

Al Jazeera also reports that Epstein sought to influence coverage in the New York Daily News while Zuckerman owned it. According to the outlet, an October 9, 2009 email shows Epstein sharing with Zuckerman a proposed response to questions from a Daily News journalist; Al Jazeera writes that the tabloid “first delayed its coverage of the allegations and then omitted details that the late financier had specifically requested be left out,” and quotes an Epstein message asking to “take ghislaine out. if possible,” referring to Ghislaine Maxwell. Al Jazeera further cites an August 24, 2014 email in which Zuckerman called Epstein “a great friend.” The same article states that Zuckerman “has never been accused of any involvement in Epstein’s crimes.”

Is Mortimer Zuckerman in the Epstein files?

Yes. Based on the sources reviewed for this profile, Mortimer Zuckerman is named in reporting on the Epstein files — documented through a contribution to Epstein’s 50th-birthday book, a financial advisory relationship, email correspondence, and Epstein’s efforts to shape coverage in the New York Daily News during Zuckerman’s ownership. Per Al Jazeera, Zuckerman has never been accused of any involvement in Epstein’s crimes. Being named in the files is not evidence of any crime or wrongdoing. People appear in these documents in many contexts — correspondence, business dealings, scheduling, or passing references. See the sources above for the specific documented context.

Documents

Primary-source records that name or reference Mortimer Zuckerman. Inclusion in these documents is not, by itself, evidence of wrongdoing; per Al Jazeera, Zuckerman has never been accused of any involvement in Epstein’s crimes.

• House Oversight Committee (Democrats) — Epstein email correspondence release (Nov. 2025) — The released email correspondence documents exchanges between Epstein and Zuckerman, including the messages in which Epstein sought to shape New York Daily News coverage of the abuse allegations — among them an instruction to “take ghislaine out” of a piece — and a 2014 message in which Zuckerman called Epstein “a great friend.”
• House Oversight Committee — additional Epstein estate documents (2025) — The estate materials released by the committee include the book of letters compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday, to which Zuckerman is reported to have contributed.