20 Celebrities Linked To Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's Associate
Some of these connections are coincidental — others are much more sinister.
Getty On July 4, 2020, after months of eluding the authorities and, reportedly hiding out in France, Ghislaine Maxwell was arrested in New Hampshire. Now reportedly being housed in the same prison where her mentor and one-time boyfriend, disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, spent the last days of her life, Maxwell is reportedly promising to "talk" — that is, she says she'll allegedly give "big names" over to the United States government in an effort to get a sentence reduction in the case against her.
Maxwell is currently being charged in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and is accused of procuring young girls for the late Epstein to abuse. Her trial begins on November 29, 2021 and she is being tried on six counts, including conspiracy to transport underage girls to engage in illegal sexual activity.
The indictment cites four victims whom, prosecutors say, Maxwell groomed between 1994 and 2004 when they were minors (some as young as 14 at the time).
But as the scrutiny on Maxwell increases so, too, does the scrutiny on the celebrities associated with her. How much did they know about her and Epstein's dirty deeds? And, worse still, how much did they participate in these depraved acts?
A list of the top 20 celebrities associated with Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's associate:
1. Donald and Melania Trump
By far, one of the most high-profile connections that Ghislaine Maxwell has is with Donald and Melania Trump.
Maxwell, who was very closely associated with Donald Trump going all the way back to 2000, frequently partied with him, Epstein, and the then-Melania Knauss.
Fox News came under fire for trying to crop Trump out of a picture featuring the foursome in a recent news broadcast, and Trump has also tried — unsuccessfully — to distance himself from Epstein and Maxwell, even though he once considered Epstein, especially, a "close friend."
Epstein even bragged that he was the one who introduced Donald and Melania Trump to one another.
2. Elon Musk
The CEO of SpaceX and the daughter of the late media mogul Robert Maxwell were photographed together at the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscars party.
The photo mostly flew under the radar for six years, until someone (it's unclear who) uncovered the photo and brought the Tesla founder into the middle of the Epstein scandal. But Musk immediately denied knowing Maxwell and claimed she "photo-bombed" him at the event.
Musk's ex-wife, Talulah Riley, even came out with a statement of her own, vociferously defending her ex-husband and slamming reports that Maxwell "hand-picked" her to be Musk's "child bride."
Musk even had to issue a statement denying that Epstein took a tour of the SpaceX facility in 2012.
3. Alan Dershowitz
Alan Dershowitz originally made his name as a defense lawyer, representing the likes of Klaus Von Buelow and OJ Simpson.
Today, however, he's forever linked to both Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. But unlike many of the other celebrities on this list — who either outright deny knowing Maxwell and Epstein, or claim that the connection was tonsorial at best — Dershowitz is a supporter of both.
He derided the Netflix documentary series, Filthy Rich (which he appeared in, no less), as "inaccurate." And he penned an entire essay defending Maxwell, telling people to "keep an open mind" and to "presume her innocent."
4. The Clintons — Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea
There is no more controversial family on this list than the Clintons. Leaving aside the insane QAnon conspiracy theories about them — most of which are targeted at Hillary Clinton — the ties between the Clintons and Ghislaine Maxwell cannot be denied.
Bill Clinton was a frequent guest on Jeffrey Epstein's plane — which has been dubbed "the Lolita Express" — and Maxwell was a noted guest at Chelsea Clinton's wedding.
There's even a rumor that claims that Bill Clinton and Ghislaine Maxwell were having an affair at one point.
5. Prince Andrew
Of all the people on this list, Ghislaine Maxwell is reportedly the closest to Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, and the uncle of Princes William and Harry.
Experts believe that when it comes to "naming names," Maxwell won't sell out Prince Andrew because he was reportedly always a "good friend" to her.
He was even there for her when her father died. However, other reports suggest that the Duke of York is "nervous" about Maxwell's testimony because she allegedly has "secret tapes" of him. (It's unclear what those "secret tapes" contain, though it can certainly be inferred.)
6. Mick Jagger
The Rolling Stones frontman made a name for himself being both a rock star and a ladies' man. However, Jagger — the originator of rock'n'roll swagger — has a bit of a, well, problematic history when it comes to dating.
Lori Mattox — considered one of rock'n'roll's most notorious groupies — had an affair with Jagger when she was well under the age of 18, and Mackenzie Phillips — actress and daughter of The Mamas & The Papas frontman John Phillips — detailed losing her virginity to him when she was barely legal. (Even worse, Jagger reportedly said he'd been "waiting for this moment since [she] was 10 years old.")
So when photos of Maxwell dining with Jagger at dinner parties started surfacing, and Jagger was revealed to be a part of Epstein's "little black book," few — if any — were surprised.
7. The Dubins
Hedge fund billionaire Glenn Dubin and his wife, Eva Andersson-Dubin, have very deep ties to both Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein.
Eva Andersson reportedly dated Epstein before marrying Glenn Dubin in 1994, and Epstein reportedly wanted to marry the Dubin's teenage daughter, Celina (who called him "Uncle Jeff").
The Dubins' butler, Rinaldo Rizzo, also said that he witnessed Maxwell holding a 15-year-old Swedish girl hostage when she refused to have sex with Epstein.
8. Naomi Campbell
Supermodel Naomi Campbell made her name as a glamorous face in the 1990s, but she also reportedly witnessed some of the worst depravities by Epstein and Maxwell.
She was frequently photographed together with Maxwell, indicating they were more than just casual friends.
And Prince Andrew's accuser Virginia Roberts Guiffre even claimed that Campbell "watched her being abused" by Epstein and Maxwell.
9. Clare Hazell, the Countess of Iveagh
The name "Clare Hazell" may not ring any bells on American shores but in Great Britain, she's known as a member of royalty as the Countess of Iveagh.
In 2001, she married into the Guinness family of beer brewing (thus earning her the royal title). But prior to that, she was Epstein's "employee" of sorts, and made more than 30 trips on the so-called "Lolita Express."
While she's reportedly not getting charged with any sort of crime, investigators involved in the Maxwell case are looking to talk to her about what she may, or may not, know about the situation.
10. NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg
The connection between the one-time presidential candidate and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Ghislaine Maxwell is a surface one, at best.
They were photographed together on October 1, 2013, at a book-signing event in New York City. And though his political opponents tried to circulate the photo and imply that Bloomberg and Epstein had extensive ties due to this photograph with Maxwell, it's the only time these two were photographed together, and Bloomberg seemingly has no other ties to Maxwell or Epstein — that we know of.
11. Harvard University President Larry Summers
The connection between Harvard University President Larry Summers and Ghislaine Maxwell goes all the way back to 2003, when Jeffrey Epstein tried to get into the good graces of the venerated Ivy League university.
Epstein reportedly funded the construction of Harvard's Hillel building, and helped establish the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics.
Epstein even used to hold guest lectures at the university. And there were many times that Summers appeared on the "Lolita Express" flight logs alongside Maxwell — sometimes in Epstein's presence, sometimes not.
12. Mark Zuckerberg
A few years ago (it's unclear exactly when), the Facebook founder and CEO was a dinner guest of LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, who was celebrating MIT neuroscientist Ed Boyden. Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein were at this dinner, too.
And this is where the accounts of what happened next differ.
According to one account, Elon Musk — who was also at this dinner — introduced Epstein to Mark Zuckerberg. However, according to both Musk and Zuckerberg, this is not the case at all.
Through his spokesman Ben LaBolt, Zuckerberg vociferously denied knowing either Epstein or Maxwell — and made clear they were merely in the same room together for a dinner party.
Musk took it a step further and issued the following statement: "I don’t recall introducing Epstein to anyone, as I don’t know the guy well enough to do so, Epstein is obviously a creep and Zuckerberg is not a friend of mine. Several years ago, I was at his house in Manhattan for about 30 minutes in the middle of the afternoon with Talulah [Riley], as she was curious about meeting this strange person for a novel she was writing. We did not see anything inappropriate at all, apart from weird art. He tried repeatedly to get me to visit his island. I declined."
Musk's representative then followed up with an email statement: "Elon never introduced Jeffrey Epstein to Mark Zuckerberg and does not know either person well enough to do so. They simply happened to be guests at a neuroscience dinner organized by Reid Hoffman."
13. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak
In her claims against Epstein, Virginia Roberts Giuffre named former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak as one of the men she was trafficked by. Giuffre claimed that Barak was a close associate of both Epstein and Maxwell's.
However, Barak immediately denied those claims in a statement: "Barak's name was inserted into the article in order to push aside the allegations against [Alan] Dershowitz. In Dershowitz's paper, it's stated that the women's testimony is false. Barak does not comment on imaginary rumors or false affidavits.
Moreover, neither did Barak know nor did he meet Epstein in 2002, when the women supposedly left the US for Australia."
14. Victoria's Secret CEO Leslie Wexner
Wexner was one of the first supporters of both Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell until 2007, when the Victoria's Secret CEO accused the disgraced financier of misappropriating more than $40 million of his money.
Around the same time, the first allegations against Epstein began percolating. So, when Maxwell was arrested in 2020, she reportedly threatened to go into extensive detail about Wexner's real involvement with the Epstein scandal, and it went above and beyond the monetary aspects.
15. Jeff Bezos
Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos is considered a "working-class hero" — a typical American success story that involves pulling himself up by his bootstraps — but he, too, seems to have a Ghislaine Maxwell connection.
According to one report, Maxwell was a guest of Bezos' 2018 Campfire retreat and reportedly, that was the third time she'd attended the exclusive literary event. Bezos never returned any requests for comment about the matter.
16. Maine Senator George Mitchell
At one point, Maine Senator George Mitchell had both a distinguished career and the respect of both his peers and his constituents.
But when the retired Senator was named as an associate of Ghislaine Maxwell's courtesy of Virginia Roberts Giuffre's lawsuit, his life seemed to immediately go into a tailspin. However, Mitchell — who was once called "the world's greatest negotiator" by Jeffrey Epstein — quickly and immediately denied the claims.
He denied ever meeting Giuffre, and an unnamed man claims he only saw Mitchell one time at Epstein's Palm Beach mansion.
17. Kevin Spacey
Ghislaine Maxwell and disgraced actor Kevin Spacey didn't seem to have any type of connection at all until recently, when a 2002 photo featuring the two of them lounging on the thrones at Buckingham Palace emerged.
The duo, who were guests of Prince Andrew, couldn't explain why they were photographed in such a state because according to a royal expert, the photo is "seen as a sign of disrespect towards Queen and country." Neither Spacey, Maxwell, nor Prince Andrew had any comment about the photo.
18. Roger Waters of Pink Floyd
In 2009, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd was photographed with Ghislaine Maxwell at a dinner party.
The duo seemed to be engaged in a pretty deep conversation. However, this seems to be the only time that the duo was photographed together, and Waters seems to have no other connection to either Maxwell or Epstein.
19. Bill Gates
The Microsoft founder and tech billionaire has a problematic history with both Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein.
In addition to being listed in Epstein's so-called "little black book," Gates met with Epstein and Maxwell on separate occasions at least one time.
While Gates avoided talking about both Epstein and Maxwell for the longest time, he recently admitted that his past affiliation with the disgraceful duo was a mistake. "I made a mistake in judgment in thinking those discussions would go to global health ... that money never appeared.
And I gave him the benefit of my association," Gates said.
20. Chris Tucker
Rush Hour actor and sometime comedian Chris Tucker went on what was billed as a humanitarian trip to Africa with Epstein, Maxwell, and Kevin Spacey — amongst others — in 2002.
However, according to a flight attendant on the private jet, there's no evidence that Tucker engaged in any illegal activities involving young girls.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in Teen Vogue, People, Us Weekly, The Source, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, BET.com, and more.