Here's what 8 business titans told Jeffrey Epstein in his birthday book

Leon Black (left) and Les Wexner (right) both wrote letters for Jeffrey Epstein's 50th birthday book in 2003.REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson; Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images; USA TODAY Network via Reuters ConnectA House committee published a copy of Jeffrey Epstein's 50th birthday book.It includes letters with lewd references from Leon Black, Les Wexner, and Nathan Myhrvold.Donald Trump denies he wrote a letter bearing his signature referencing a "wonderful secret."In 2003, Ghislaine Maxwell gifted Jeffrey Epstein a scrapbook for his 50th birthday.In between memorabilia from childhood friends, heartfelt letters from family, and photos of nude women, some of the world's wealthiest men and most prominent business leaders wished Epstein a happy birthday.Leon Black wrote a poem and signed it "love and kisses." Les Wexner doodled a woman's chest. Nathan Myhrvold, a former Microsoft executive and associate of Bill Gates, sent several photos of animals having sex and with erect penises.A copy of the book, which spans over 200 pages, was released by the House Oversight Committee on Monday after it was obtained from Epstein's estate.The book includes apparent messages from now-President Donald Trump and former president Bill Clinton, as well as from childhood friends and family members.Wide swaths of it are redacted under sections titled "Girlfriends," "Children," and "Girl-friends."Inclusion in the book is not an indication of wrongdoing. Palm Beach police didn't start investigating Epstein's sexual abuse of girls until several years after Epstein received the book, in a case that culminated in a 2008 guilty plea on prostitution charges.Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial for far more serious rape and sex-trafficking allegations. A jury later found Maxwell guilty of trafficking girls to Epstein for sex, and she's serving a 20-year prison sentence.The Wall Street Journal first reported on the existence of the book in July, writing that it included a "bawdy" letter from Trump with a cryptic message that said "Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret," bracketed with an outline of a naked woman and the now-president's signature in the place of pubic hair.Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against The Journal over the publication of its story and called the letter "fake." The Journal has stood by its reporting. On Monday, a White House spokesperson said Trump didn't write the letter.Here's a look at what eight business leaders wrote in Epstein's birthday card, according to the copy of the book published by the House Oversight Committee.Leon BlackThe former Apollo Global Management CEO — and one of Epstein's only known financial clients — wrote a handwritten poem in Epstein's honor in the "friends" section."A Liver, a Lover, a Jeff, a Jeffrey," reads one sample verse. "Let's all give a cheer, for today he's Fifty!"Another rhyme reads "Blonde, Red or Brunette, spread out geographically" followed by "With this net of fish, Jeff's now 'The Old Man and The Sea,'" with "Old Man" underlined.A spokesperson for Black declined to comment to Business Insider.Black has previously said he regrets his association with Epstein and wasn't aware of any sexual misconduct.An Apollo-commissioned investigation found that Black paid Epstein over $150 million between 2012 and 2017 for financial advice, including for tax maneuvers that saved him around $600 million. An investigation from US Sen. Ron Wyden put Black's payments to Epstein at closer to $170 million.Black's 2003 letter appears to reference Epstein's forte with taxes: "Green eyeshades, schemes and plans, a unique tax strategy," it reads.Donald TrumpPart of the letter that Donald Trump allegedly wrote Jeffrey Epstein. The president's spokesperson denied his involvement.Jeffrey Epstein estateAccording to the copy of the book published by the House Oversight Committee, Trump's birthday note appears to be an imaginary dialogue between him and Epstein about "having everything." The words are bracketed by the outline of a nude woman, with ink strokes representing breasts. It appears in the "friends" section."Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?" Trump muses in the exchange."As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you," Epstein replies."A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret," Trump says.Trump's lawyers described the letter as "nonexistent" in a defamation lawsuit against the Journal after it published its story in July. The Journal has stood by its reporting.On Monday, a representative for Trump's personal legal team directed Business Insider to a statement from White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, who described reporting about the letter as a "hatchet job.""As I have said all along, it's very clear President Trump did not draw this picture, and he did not sign it," Leavitt wrote.Trump's lawsuit against The Journal is ongoing.Les WexnerLes Wexner, the former CEO of Victoria's Secret, wrote a brief note to Epstein in honor of his 50th birthday, the card shows."I wanted to get you what you want… so here it is…" Wexner wrote.Underneath that text is an illustration of what appears to be a woman's breasts, followed by Wexner's signature. His note was published in the "friends" part of the book.A spokesperson for Wexner declined to comment to Business Insider for this story.Wexner was one of Epstein's biggest and earliest financial clients, paying him tens of millions of dollars between the 1980s and the 2000s to manage the billionaire's personal financial life.Wexner said he cut ties with Epstein in 2007, amid a Florida law enforcement investigation into his sexual abuse of girls. In the process, Wexner said, he learned that Epstein "had misappropriated vast sums of money from me and my family."Bill ElkusWilliam Elkus, the founder of the venture capital firm Clearstone, was connected to Epstein through the latter's J. Epstein Foundation. Elkus was a trustee at the organization's founding in 1991.In his note to Epstein, Elkus recounted a time in 1988 when Epstein visited him in Fairfield, Iowa, where he said he was managing the money of a wealthy local family. The note appeared in the "friends" section."It's no secret that Jeffrey appreciates beautiful women," Elkus wrote. "But not many people know that he can create them out of thin air."In that corner of Iowa, he added, "there's more than a little truth to the saying that it's hard to tell the difference between the girls and the hogs."In an email on Tuesday, Elkus told Business Insider the event he recalled in the birthday letter was "long before any articles ever came out about Epstein, good or bad" and that the reference to girls and hogs jokingly cited an "old folk saying."Elkus recounted in his letter that, while visiting a local bookstore, "a spectacular tall blonde woman" approached Epstein, who then "did his magic, and she ended up going home with him to New York for the weekend.""I'll admit to wondering at the time whether Jeffrey somehow arranged the whole episode through some long-distance escort service" before being proven wrong after meeting the woman in Manhattan a week later, Elkus wrote.Elkus wrote in his email to Business Insider that the story referenced in the letter was not meant to be viewed nefariously."I did not say that Epstein did anything inappropriate (and he didn't do anything inappropriate that I could see then or at any time before or after this incident)," Elkus wrote. "This was a mature woman who was a sales rep, not a young student. I was highlighting his charisma."Nathan MyhrvoldOne of the many lewd entries was from Nathan Myhrvold, who was listed as a friend of Epstein.At the time, Myhrvold had retired from his role as Microsoft's chief technology officer and was working as the CEO of Intellectual Ventures, a firm that incubates and markets inventions. He would go on to found the global health organizations Global Good and the Institute for Disease Modeling with Bill Gates.In an introductory letter published in the "friends" part of the book, Myhrvold wrote that he "agonized long and hard about what to write." He wrote that he decided to eschew the "philosophical" or "silly and salacious." Instead, he included a series of photos that he said he took on a trip to Africa."They seemed more appropriate than anything I could put in words," he wrote.The wildlife photos depict animals in various suggestive ways, including a pair of lions mating, a zebra with a large penis, and a monkey with an erection.A representative for Mhyrvold did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. A spokesman previously told The Wall Street Journal that Mhyrvoid didn't recall the submission and "regularly shares photos of and writes about animal behavior."Nathan Myhrvold sent a smattering of animal photos in suggestive poses.Jeffrey Epstein estateAlan "Ace" GreenbergThe former CEO of Bear Stearns, Alan "Ace" Greenberg, who died in 2014, was one of the bank's leaders during Epstein's stint in the late 1970s and early 1980s."Working with Jeffrey has been a pleasure, and watching his meteoric success has given me many vicarious thrills," Greenberg wrote in his note, which was included in the book's considerably less scandalous "business" section.Kathryn Olson Greenberg, Greenberg's widow, told Business Insider that Epstein and Greenberg did not have a relationship beyond Epstein's time at Bear Stearns. She said that her husband "would never say no" if he were asked to write a birthday message.James "Jimmy" CayneAnother former Bear Stearns CEO, James "Jimmy" Cayne, handwrote a brief note to Epstein. Like Greenberg's note, it was published in the "business" section.The finance exec wished him a happy birthday and added what seems to be an inside joke: "From a 'six' to another 'six.'"Cayne died in 2021. His daughter did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.Mort ZuckermanZuckerman, the billionaire media and real estate mogul, wrote an apparently satirical letter saying he found extensive records of Epstein in the archives of The New York Daily News, which Zuckerman owned at the time."It shows his vital statistics, his birthday (23rd), his date of birth (July 11), his country of birth (Lichtenstein), his family life (wife, 3 children), and his profession," Zuckerman wrote.In reality, Epstein's birthday was January 20, and he was born in Brooklyn, according to a copy of the birth certificate included elsewhere in the birthday book. At the time of his death, he had no publicly known wife or children.The note is followed by a photo of then-President George W. Bush with his face blurred out, as well as a mock tabloid article headlined "International funny man of history revealed as alien in disguise."Epstein and Zuckerman briefly worked together on different media ventures. The pair, along with Harvey Weinstein and other investors, led a failed bid to buy New York Magazine in the early 2000s. Epstein and Zuckerman later briefly financed the celebrity magazine Radar.Zuckerman did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider about the birthday letter or his relationship with Epstein. Representatives for US News & World Report, where he is the editor in chief, and Boston Properties, where he is the chairman, did not respond to requests for comment either.Read the original article on Business Insider

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