Who had the most contact with Jeffrey Epstein in the final decade of his life? The Economist analyzed 1.4 million of his emails to map his extensive network among the rich and powerful. l

In a groundbreaking data investigation, The Economist’s team processed more than 1.4 million emails from Jeffrey Epstein’s archives, creating one of the most detailed portraits yet of his communications during the final ten years of his life. The analysis, released in February 2026, sheds new light on the scale and diversity of Epstein’s connections long after his earlier legal troubles.

The results reveal a surprisingly broad and balanced network. Staff and service providers dominated the volume of correspondence, accounting for nearly three-fifths of the messages among the top 500 most frequent contacts. Key figures included longtime assistant Lesley Groff, accountant Richard Kahn, and pilot Larry Visoski, who handled the operational demands of Epstein’s far-flung properties and lifestyle.

Beyond the inner circle, however, the emails expose an astonishing web of high-profile external relationships. Among non-staff correspondents, roughly a quarter of the most frequent contacts have their own Wikipedia pages, spanning multiple industries. Finance led the way at 19 percent, followed by science and technology at 10 percent, with notable representation from law, business, and other elite sectors. The data shows Epstein maintained direct, often regular communication with influential figures across these fields.

Particularly striking is the consistency of contact. Some individuals exchanged emails with Epstein on roughly 70 percent of days — roughly five out of every seven days in the week. Names that surfaced repeatedly in the analysis include prominent financiers, billionaires from major family fortunes, and former high-level government officials.

The Economist’s methodology involved advanced tools to standardize names and email addresses despite variations, then mapping frequency and relationship strength. An “alarm index” powered by a large language model was also applied to flag potentially notable content, though the bulk of the archive consisted of routine business, scheduling, and networking exchanges.

This massive dataset paints Epstein not as an isolated figure but as a persistent node in elite circles, trading influence, favors, and access even in the years leading up to his death in 2019. As more researchers and investigators explore the publicly available Jmail.world archive, the full picture of Epstein’s final decade continues to unfold, raising fresh questions about power, access, and accountability among the world’s most connected individuals.