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Mikhail Gromov

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Mikhail Gromov

Mikhail Gromov and Jeffrey Epstein

Snapshot

Mikhail “Misha” Gromov is a mathematician known for his contributions to geometry. He received the 2009 Abel Prize and is a professor emeritus at the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques, known as IHES.

Released Epstein records document direct correspondence, planned meetings, scientific discussions, introductions, social invitations, and travel arrangements involving Gromov from 2015 into 2019. A French investigation counted approximately thirty appointments arranged between the two men. That figure refers to scheduled appointments. It does not prove that every meeting took place.

The reviewed evidence does not establish that Gromov participated in Epstein’s sexual abuse or trafficking crimes.

Key Takeaways

  • Gromov and Epstein arranged an initial meeting in Paris in July 2015. Their correspondence continued for years.
  • Epstein’s schedules repeatedly named Gromov in New York, Paris, and Cambridge plans. Calendar entries do not independently confirm every encounter.
  • Gromov suggested that Epstein meet Harvard researcher Leon Peshkin. He also supplied contact information for mathematician and French politician Cédric Villani.
  • Gromov forwarded a commercial proposal concerning healthy aging. Epstein discussed a possible investment and an equal division of any future profit. The correspondence does not prove that an investment occurred.
  • Epstein asked Gromov to reassure mathematician and investor James Simons about Epstein’s reputation. The request does not prove that Gromov complied.
  • Epstein’s office named Gromov when inviting other prominent people to gatherings. It also arranged a possible visit for him to a Woody Allen film set.
  • Travel itineraries said Gromov was expected to fly with Epstein. The itineraries alone do not establish that he boarded an aircraft.

Who Is Mikhail Gromov?

Gromov was born in the Soviet Union in 1943 and became a French citizen in 1992. He worked at Stony Brook University and the University of Paris before joining IHES in 1982. His research transformed several areas of geometry. The Abel Prize committee honored him in 2009 for his contributions to the field.

His career is documented in the IHES profile of Mikhail Gromov and the Abel Prize biography.

Gromov’s interest in questions linking mathematics and biology provides context for some of his scientific exchanges with Epstein. His academic standing also made his name valuable to Epstein when seeking access to other researchers.

The First Documented Contact in Paris

According to News Tank’s investigation, Harvard mathematician and biologist Martin Nowak introduced Gromov and Epstein in June 2015.

A June and July 2015 email chain, EFTA00346005, shows Epstein’s assistant Lesley Groff arranging a Paris dinner. Gromov proposed a restaurant near his home. Epstein’s office offered either a restaurant or a meal at Epstein’s apartment on Avenue Foch. By July 1, the participants had agreed on arrangements for the following day, including a driver to collect Gromov.

The correspondence documents agreement and detailed preparation. It is not an independent record of the dinner itself.

The early invitation also offered a possible walk with Woody Allen. It shows how Epstein presented access to a prominent acquaintance while seeking a meeting with Gromov. The email does not establish that the walk occurred.

Meetings and Appointments From 2015 to 2019

Epstein’s calendars repeatedly name Gromov. A November 19, 2015 schedule, EFTA00335009, includes a lunch appointment with him. An October 2015 schedule, EFTA00285143, places Gromov at a planned lunch with Noam and Valeria Chomsky. Later records list additional appointments in 2017 and 2018.

News Tank reported that its review found approximately thirty appointments arranged between Gromov and Epstein in France and the United States from 2015 through 2019. It also reported more than 2,400 appearances of Gromov’s name in the documents it examined.

Those figures describe News Tank’s count and search results. They should not be presented as thirty independently confirmed encounters or 2,400 distinct messages written by Gromov. The repeated correspondence and scheduling nevertheless establish a sustained connection.

The Planned Cambridge Flights

A December 5, 2015 itinerary, EFTA00293613, directed a driver to collect Gromov and stated that he was to fly with Epstein from New York to the Boston area. It then listed appointments at Nowak’s institute in Cambridge involving Gromov, Noam Chomsky, Danny Hillis, Martin Nowak, and George Church. The same itinerary included plans to take Gromov back to an airport.

Another travel schedule, EFTA00285128, stated that Epstein was to fly Gromov with him.

These are records of intended travel and coordinated meetings. They are not passenger manifests or independent confirmation that Gromov boarded either flight. An Epstein Data science network report describes the flights as completed, but its cited calendar language does not establish boarding on its own.

The EpsteinWiki article on the Maxwell trial flight logs explains the importance of identifying exactly what a travel record proves.

Scientific Discussions With Epstein

A July 2016 email chain, EFTA00693468, shows Epstein asking why biology had not yielded more of its mysteries to mathematics. Gromov responded within a broader exchange about mathematical concepts and scientific explanation.

A December 2017 correspondence chain, EFTA00939531, contains a sustained discussion about perception, thought, language, and higher level visual processing. It also includes remarks by Epstein about race and statistics. Those remarks belong to Epstein. They should not be presented as Gromov’s scientific conclusions or as established facts.

The exchanges show active intellectual contact. They do not establish that Epstein held a formal scientific position at IHES or that Gromov agreed with every view Epstein expressed.

The HealthSpan Proposal and Possible Investment

In May 2016, Gromov forwarded Epstein a proposal from Victoria Nikiforova for a product called HealthSpan Pass. The proposal described blood metabolomics, biomarkers, and personalized recommendations concerning healthy aging. Its statements about prospective products and commercial demand were claims within a proposal, not demonstrated outcomes.

In the HealthSpan correspondence, EFTA02351022, Epstein explained the terms he said he used if he invested in an opportunity brought to him by a friend. He would supply the money, take the financial risk, and divide any profit equally. Gromov called the proposed division generous and said it would make him more involved if Epstein took the opportunity.

The emails establish an investment discussion involving Gromov and a third party’s proposal. They do not establish that Epstein transferred money, that HealthSpan Pass launched, or that Gromov received profits.

The Leon Peshkin Introduction

Gromov suggested that Epstein meet Leon Peshkin, a Harvard researcher. In July 2016, Groff asked Gromov whether Peshkin would be available while Epstein was visiting the Cambridge area. Gromov said he had forwarded her message, and Groff said she would follow up.

The Peshkin correspondence, EFTA00322724, documents Gromov’s recommendation and his help passing along the approach. It does not, by itself, prove that the proposed meeting took place.

Epstein’s Request Concerning James Simons

On March 1, 2017, Epstein asked Gromov to send James Simons a note saying Epstein was less troubling than internet search results suggested. Epstein added that he understood Simons’s wife was concerned.

Epstein’s email to Gromov, EFTA01053214, directly documents an attempt to use Gromov’s standing to repair Epstein’s reputation with a prominent mathematician and investor. The cited record is a request. It does not establish that Gromov sent a note or that Simons received one.

Cédric Villani and Epstein’s French Contacts

In October 2017, Epstein asked Gromov for Cédric Villani’s email address. Gromov provided one but cautioned that it was an old address that might have changed. Gromov’s reply, EFTA00990803, documents his direct assistance with the contact.

Epstein subsequently wrote to Villani and invoked Gromov and Joi Ito in his introduction. In the Villani correspondence, EFTA02582460, Epstein claimed that Gromov spoke highly of Villani. That wording is Epstein’s claim. The message does not establish that Gromov authorized Epstein to use his name or endorsed Epstein’s proposed meeting.

Le Monde’s reporting describes Epstein’s approach and Villani’s account of visiting Epstein’s Paris apartment. The sequence shows a concrete route of access: Gromov supplied contact information, and Epstein used his association with Gromov when introducing himself to another mathematician who was also a French elected official.

An Epstein Paris planning list, EFTA00285124, separately named Gromov among people Epstein’s office wanted to see. It described biologist François Taddei as Gromov’s friend. A planning list does not prove that Gromov arranged a meeting with every person named on it.

Social Gatherings and Invitations

Epstein’s office used Gromov’s name in invitations to a gathering planned for October 9, 2016, at Epstein’s New York home. An invitation to Ariane de Rothschild, EFTA00317496, said that Epstein expected Deepak Chopra and Gromov. A separate invitation to Peter Thiel, EFTA00317497, also named them.

These documents show how Epstein’s office promoted the anticipated guest list to other invitees. They do not independently establish the final attendance of every person named.

A December 2016 guest list, EFTA00439984, for a gathering connected to Nowak’s Harvard program includes Gromov alongside researchers, technology figures, and business contacts. The list establishes who was named in the plans. Attendance by each person requires confirmation from additional evidence.

Researcher Joscha Bach, who describes attending gatherings organized by Epstein, has publicly named Gromov among the scientists in that circle. His account provides participant context, while the evidence files remain the basis for claims about specific dates and events.

The Woody Allen Film Set Arrangements

In October 2017, Epstein’s office asked whether Gromov could watch Woody Allen filming in New York. The film set correspondence, EFTA02225801, discusses Gromov’s availability, possible locations, timing, and whether someone from Epstein’s household would accompany him.

The messages indicate that Gromov wanted to visit a second filming location after a lecture. Allen’s assistant responded that accommodating a guest throughout the day would be difficult.

This was a detailed attempt to arrange access, rather than a passing mention of Allen. The cited correspondence does not conclusively document which parts of the proposed visit Gromov attended.

The Closer To Truth Project in 2019

In February 2019, television producer Robert Lawrence Kuhn wrote to Gromov about proposed interviews for a Closer To Truth series on breakthroughs in mathematics and other fields. Kuhn copied Epstein and described Epstein as collaborating on the project.

The interview planning correspondence, EFTA01029442, includes an earlier response in which Gromov said proposed dates conflicted with his schedule. It extends the documented connection into 2019 and places Epstein within an attempted media introduction involving Gromov.

The cited chain does not establish that an interview with Gromov was eventually filmed or broadcast.

What the Evidence Establishes

The released emails establish that Gromov and Epstein corresponded directly. They document Gromov forwarding an investment proposal, recommending Peshkin as a contact, and supplying Villani’s email address. Epstein’s message about Simons establishes what Epstein asked Gromov to do, but not whether Gromov did it.

Calendars and invitations establish repeated plans to meet and to include Gromov in gatherings. Travel itineraries establish intended journeys. These records do not independently verify every completed meeting or flight.

The News Tank article refers in its headline to a response from IHES. Its publicly accessible text does not provide the response’s wording. No position is attributed to IHES here on the basis of that headline.

The reviewed records do not establish that Gromov participated in Epstein’s sexual abuse or trafficking crimes. His documented decisions and contacts can be examined without treating association as proof of those crimes.

Questions That Remain Open

  • Which of the approximately thirty scheduled appointments took place?
  • Do flight logs, passenger records, or other independent evidence confirm the trips described in Epstein’s itineraries?
  • Did Gromov send Simons the reputation message Epstein requested?
  • Did Epstein invest in the HealthSpan proposal, and did Gromov have a financial interest in any resulting venture?
  • Which parts of the proposed Woody Allen film set visit took place?
  • Was a Closer To Truth interview with Gromov filmed or released?
  • What did IHES say in its response to News Tank, and has the institute published that response independently?

Sources

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