Short Answer
Boris Nikolic is a biotech investor and scientist who served as a senior science adviser to Bill Gates. He was named as a “successor executor” in Jeffrey Epstein’s will, which was filed on August 8, 2019 — two days before Epstein’s death. Nikolic publicly stated he had not consented to being named and rejected the role.
In Detail
Background
Nikolic trained as a physician and worked as a science adviser to Bill Gates, helping evaluate biotechnology investments and scientific opportunities for Gates’s philanthropic and business ventures. He later founded his own biotech investment firms.
The Will
Epstein’s 2019 will, filed just before his death, named the 1953 Trust (named for Epstein’s birth year) as the primary vehicle for his assets, estimated at over $577 million. Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn were named co-executors. Nikolic was named as a “successor executor” — meaning he would step in if the primary executors could not serve.
The inclusion of Nikolic as a successor executor was widely reported as surprising. Nikolic was not known as an intimate of Epstein’s, though the two had met through their overlapping connections to Gates and to scientific philanthropy.
Nikolic’s Response
Nikolic issued a statement through a spokesman saying he was not aware he would be named in the will and that he declined the appointment. He said he had no intention of playing any role in the administration of Epstein’s estate.
Significance
The naming of Nikolic in Epstein’s will was interpreted by some observers as an attempt by Epstein to posthumously assert a connection to Gates’s world and bolster the appearance of a broader support network. It added to scrutiny of the Epstein-Gates relationship and the broader question of how Epstein cultivated proximity to powerful figures in science and technology.