Foundation Structure
The Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation was incorporated in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein had significant interests at Little Saint James island. The VI designation referred to the Virgin Islands registration.
Stated Purpose
The foundation’s stated purpose was to support scientific and educational causes, principally in mathematics, physics, and cognitive science.
Total Donations
Estimates of total donations through the foundation run to approximately million or more over the years, with major recipients including Harvard and MIT.
Harvard
The largest single recipient relationship was Harvard, where Epstein channeled approximately million through the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics under Martin Nowak.
MIT
MIT received approximately ,000 in direct donations from the foundation. Additional amounts were routed through a donor anonymization system at the MIT Media Lab, allowing Epstein’s name to be hidden from official records. MIT’s Media Lab Director Joi Ito resigned in 2019 when his concealment of Epstein donations from MIT records became public.
USVI Benefits
Registration in the USVI provided tax and regulatory advantages and created some opacity in foundation finances.