Sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was a “product of one or more elements of the intelligence community,” Eric Weinstein, the mathematician and a former managing director of Thiel Capital, said during an appearance on the Diary of a CEO podcast, hosted by Steven Bartlett.
Weinstein, who said he had met Epstein, described him as “certainly was not a financier in any standard sense. That was a cover story.”
Newsweek has reached out to Weinstein for comment via social media message outside of regular working hours.
Why It Matters
The FBI and Department of Justice recently announced that a joint review concluded Epstein had died by suicide in August of 2019 while awaiting further sex trafficking charges in a New York jail. The review found no evidence of a “client list” or blacklist materials.
Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
Epstein had well-documented connections to public and powerful figures, and his death has long prompted numerous conspiracy theories, becoming a lightning rod in American politics.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk previously claimed in a now-deleted social media post that Trump’s name appeared in the Epstein files, and he called on President Donald Trump to release the files “as promised.”
Trump, who does not stand accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, has tried to steer the conversation away from the issue, saying he cannot understand why people are “still talking about […] this creep.” There is no evidence that Trump is mentioned in any unreleased files related to the sex offender.
What To Know
The podcast episode, titled ‘Eric Weinstein: Jeffery Epstein Was A Front! And The Collapse Has Already Started!’, aired on July 14, 2025. So far the video has been viewed over 1.4 million times.
The clip of the podcast where they discuss Epstein is titled ‘The Dark Truth About Jeffery Epstein,’ and runs for a little over 10 minutes.
“I don’t know who Jeffery Epstein was but I would certainly bet money that he was a product of at least one or more elements of the intelligence community,” Weinstein says.
“I don’t know who he was. I don’t know who ran him. He certainly was not a financier in any standard sense. That was a cover story.”
British entrepreneur Bartlett asks about Weinstein having met Epstein, and he says, “He wasn’t a financier the day I met him.” Weinstein goes on to describe Epstein as a “weird guy,” who “didn’t seem to know a lot about currency trading.”
Weinstein also describes Epstein as a “construct.”
He adds, “Something is really off with this story,” and says that we live in “managed reality,” which he describes as being a version of The Truman Show, a reference 1998 film about a man unaware his life is being broadcast on a 24/7 reality show.
Newsweek has not been able to independently verify the statements made by Weinstein in the video.
What People Are Saying
Eric Weinstein wrote on X on July 9: “I am not the guy to tell you what Epstein was. Or whether he killed himself. Or what the “Client list” was. Because, like you, I don’t actually know about any of those things. And I have never claimed that I do.”
Democratic Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Republicans in the House Rules Committee just stopped an amendment that, if passed, would force Congress to vote on whether the Trump Administration should release the Epstein files. What are they hiding?”
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields was asked about the Epstein files, but told reporters on Friday: “Any attempt to sow division within this team is baseless and distracts from the real progress being made in restoring public safety and pursuing justice for all.”
What’s Next
Conspiracy theories over Epstein, his death and his connection to powerful people have been rampant for years, and show no sign of abating following the results of the review from the FBI and the Department of Justice, in spite of Trump‘s assertion that “nobody cares about,” Epstein.
About the Author
