A leather-bound volume compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell as a 50th birthday gift for Jeffrey Epstein reveals something troubling: his closest friends knew exactly what he was.
The book, titled The First 50 Years, runs 238 pages and contains contributions from former presidents, billionaires, Nobel laureates, and childhood acquaintances. It was assembled in 2003 — years before the first public allegations of sexual abuse would surface. And based on a review of the document released by the House Oversight Committee last week, nearly every entry depicts Epstein engaging in some form of sexual exploitation.
The birthday book is not a typical greeting card. It's more like a scrapbook filled with handwritten notes, photographs, and limericks from Epstein's circle of elite friends. One contributor, industrialist and art advisor Stuart Piver, wrote a verse that captures the book's tone: "Though up to no good, whenever he could has avoided the penitentiary."
Among those who contributed to this document were Donald Trump, Bill Clinton, and Britain's recently sacked ambassador to the United States, Lord Mandelson. Many entries appear to celebrate Epstein's alleged behavior with explicit pride — suggesting it was an open secret among his closest associates.
Trump initially claimed the book was fabricated when The Wall Street Journal first reported on it, even launching a $20 billion defamation lawsuit against the newspaper and its owner Rupert Murdoch. The White House, potentially receiving public relations advice from Prince Andrew, continues to insist the document is fake. Yet the book turns out to be far worse than many expected — not just for Trump, but for everyone connected to Epstein.
The birthday book wasn't released in isolation. The House Oversight Committee also published Epstein's will, a copy of his 2007 non-prosecution agreement, and entries from his address book. Meanwhile, Bloomberg News revealed a trove of over 18,000 personal emails belonging to Epstein — documents that shed light on his relationship with Ghislaine Maxwell.
The birthday book opens with a prologue written in handwriting so illegible it could be mistaken for a doctor's prescription. Clinton's handwriting is reportedly even worse. It's unclear whether these figures have such terrible penmanship because they were writing something inappropriate, or whether they simply wanted plausible deniability — scribbling on the page that assumes nothing incriminating was left behind.
Trump's message differs from Clinton's. His contribution is clearly typed and fully legible. He follows what appears to be a Roy Cohen strategy: deny everything, call it fake news, and hope the scandal disappears.
The book is structured like a scrapbook divided into themed sections: Family, Brooklyn, Girlfriends, Children, Friends, Science, and Business. The family section contains Epstein's birth certificate, a cub scout graduation certificate, and an unusual photograph described as showing armed African soldiers with a caption explaining how they served as bodyguards before Epstein began "trading" with presidents.
There's also a letter from his mother, several pages long, where she mentions he was listed as "Bachelor of the Month" in Cosmopolitan magazine when he was 27. She writes that today he still holds that title — showing some awareness of his reputation among women.
The Brooklyn section contains newspaper clippings about young Epstein playing accordion at Carnegie Hall, though these appear to be written by friends rather than actual articles. One strange piece is headlined "Yellow Laundry Mystery Solved" and appears to describe a young boy caught urinating on a neighbor's laundry.
On page 57, there's an unsigned handwritten note from a Brooklyn friend describing how the author along with Epstein, their friend Warren Eisenstein, and Epstein's brother Mark picked up girls on the beach, took them out on a boat where they threatened them with violence and demanded they strip off their bathing suits. The same person describes himself and Epstein engaging in sexual activity while Epstein swallows penicillin. Another entry describes bringing a girl to Epstein's mother's house and making her remove her top.
Many of these stories about Epstein's youth contain strong references to sexual exploitation, some possibly involving minors, with many glorifying his skills of manipulation.
The children section kicks off with the story written by a child that appears to be titled "Uncle F Makes Potty" — describing a grown man who doesn't know how to use a potty and defecates on the floor. There's also a child's drawing depicting a wedding with crying children in the background and lyrics asking, "Where is the groom? He's in the lady's room."
The friends section is the most disturbing part of the book. It begins with a photograph showing Epstein and another man — Epstein wearing a stocking over his head while the friend wears a balaclava. The text underneath reads: "Jeffrey unveiled his plan. To some it may have seemed a get-rich scheme, but to me it was pure genius. Rob and kill was the name of the first victim to be attacked and brutally plundered."
There's a note from Leon Black, co-founder of Apollo Global Management, describing Epstein as a "Vanity Fair poster child" and recasting him as the hero in Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea — except instead of catching fish, this old man catches women: blonde, red, or brunette, spread out geographically.
Bill Clinton contributed a letter praising Epstein's childlike curiosity. One wishes that referred to his curiosity about children, which is what investigators are most concerned about.
Alan Dersowitz, a Harvard professor and lawyer for celebrities like Epstein, Trump, and OJ Simpson, wrote a letter joking about how he had talked Vanity Fair into changing the focus of an issue from you to Bill Clinton. The next page shows a mock cover of Vanity Fair renamed "Vanity Unfair" with headlines suggesting Epstein might have been Jack the Ripper, that he financed the terrorist group Al-Qaeda, and stories about his alleged bloody rampages.
Bill Elkus, founder of venture capital firm Clearstone, wrote about a visit from Epstein in 1988. He noted it's no secret that Epstein appreciates beautiful women, but not many people know he can create them out of thin air. He recounts how Epstein managed to find a tall, beautiful blonde who returned to New York with him the next day, admitting he wondered whether Epstein somehow arranged the whole episode.
The birthday book and other documents raise even more questions about Epstein's influence and how widely known his behavior was among his friends and associates. These documents suggest his alleged abuse wasn't hidden at all — it was celebrated by some of the most powerful people in the world.
Critics might note that this document, while revealing, doesn't necessarily prove criminal conduct. The birthday book is a celebration of Epstein's behavior among his elite friends, but it's not evidence of specific crimes. The real significance lies in what it reveals about the culture of complicity among those who knew him.
"This book reads like it was designed as a challenge for Alan Turing" — suggesting the handwriting was intentionally illegible to create plausible deniability while allowing Epstein's friends to claim they wrote something nice.
Bottom Line
The strongest part of this argument is that Epstein's elite network clearly knew about his alleged behavior and chose to celebrate it rather than distance themselves. The birthday book wasn't hidden — it was a public gift among the powerful. The biggest vulnerability is that none of this proves criminal conduct by any specific contributor, but it does reveal something more disturbing: an open secret that was treated as entertainment among those who should have known better. What comes next may depend on whether investigators pursue these connections with the same rigor they applied to Epstein himself.