Behind the Bastards

Part Three: How Jeffrey Epstein Helped Build the Modern World

February 24, 2026

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  • Jeffrey Epstein actively attempted to broker a meeting with Vladimir Putin in 2013 to pitch Bitcoin as a tool for Russia to leapfrog the West financially, comparing it to Sputnik. 
  • Richard Branson invited Epstein to his private island in 2013, explicitly referencing Epstein's "harem" in the invitation, leading to a denial from Branson's spokesperson that the harem referred only to adult staff. 
  • Christopher Poole created the politically incorrect (4chan's /pol/) board the day after meeting Jeffrey Epstein in person, suggesting Epstein may have influenced the creation of this major hub for right-wing and neo-Nazi propaganda. 
  • By 2016, Jeffrey Epstein was organically falling down a right-wing media rabbit hole, evidenced by his casual sharing of Breitbart articles with Democratic White House counsel Kathy Rumler, who expressed shock at his media consumption. 
  • Epstein's increasing interest in right-wing ideology included supporting white nationalist influencers with donations and corresponding with figures like Peter Thiel about shared goals of counter-globalization and returning to tribalism to facilitate asset acquisition. 
  • Epstein's financial and ideological alignment with the far-right, including supporting race science and fascist thinkers, is presented as a key factor in how he influenced the development of the right-wing populist movement, alongside his involvement in cryptocurrency as a means to decouple finance from democratic governance. 

Segments

Epstein Pitches Putin on Bitcoin
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(00:06:30)
  • Key Takeaway: Epstein used former Norwegian PM Thorbjorn Jaglund as an intermediary to pitch Vladimir Putin on adopting Bitcoin as Russia’s ‘Sputnik of the 21st century’ to disrupt US economic dominance.
  • Summary: Epstein sent a detailed, well-written email arguing Russia could leapfrog the West by reinventing the financial system with Bitcoin, calling it the ‘sputnik of the 21st century.’ He insisted on a minimum two to three-hour meeting with Putin to discuss this grand vision. Putin ultimately declined to meet with Epstein, showing better judgment than many other figures mentioned.
Branson’s Image Repair Advice
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(00:16:00)
  • Key Takeaway: Richard Branson advised Epstein that his public image could be repaired if Bill Gates would publicly vouch for him, stating Epstein was a brilliant advisor who had ‘slipped up’ once.
  • Summary: In 2013, Branson invited Epstein to his private island, adding a request to bring his ‘harem,’ which Branson’s spokesperson later claimed referred only to adult staff. Branson suggested Gates should state Epstein was punished for sleeping with a 17.5-year-old and had learned his lesson.
MIT and Crypto Connections
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(00:22:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Jeffrey Epstein’s friendship with MIT’s Joy Ito resulted in the Epstein Foundation donating at least $850,000 to Ito’s projects between 2002 and 2017, while other faculty visited his island and received funding.
  • Summary: Ito was the person who connected Epstein to key Bitcoin developers, and MIT accepted Epstein’s money nearly a decade after his sex crime conviction. Professor Seth Lloyd was put on administrative leave after visiting Epstein’s island and prison, though he retained his tenured professorship.
Epstein’s Con Man Confession
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(00:35:49)
  • Key Takeaway: In an email exchange with Joy Ito regarding a crypto project, Epstein explicitly described the venture as ‘Mini Ponzi gambling, manipulation,’ noting it was unlikely to cause trouble unless high-value targets were affected.
  • Summary: Epstein compared Bitcoin’s undefined nature to gender classification, noting that people were lying about its anonymity to attract criminals. This admission confirms Epstein was fully aware of the manipulative nature of the crypto projects he was influencing at MIT.
4chan’s Political Evolution
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(00:40:33)
  • Key Takeaway: Christopher Poole created 4chan after being banned from Something Awful, and later deleted the news board (/new) because it devolved into neo-Nazi content, only to create the politically incorrect (/pol) board a year later after meeting Jeffrey Epstein.
  • Summary: The /pol board was established as a hub for right-wing discussion, immediately becoming a center for white supremacist propaganda, which Poole had previously quarantined. Epstein was introduced to Poole by venture capitalist Boris Nikolik, who told Epstein to ‘be gentle’ with the ‘very bright’ Poole.
Epstein’s Juvenile Internet Habits
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(00:52:30)
  • Key Takeaway: Jeffrey Epstein regularly used 4chan, sending links to his girlfriend containing pornography of animated characters, including Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time.
  • Summary: Epstein’s consumption of animated character pornography suggests a juvenile aspect to his interests, which his partner noted was unsurprising given his interest in teenage girls. Joy Ito also sent Epstein the Wikipedia page for Daki Makura (anime body pillows) in 2013.
Bannon, Breitbart, and 4chan Link
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(00:57:53)
  • Key Takeaway: Steve Bannon took over Breitbart shortly after 4chan’s politically incorrect board launched, connecting Epstein’s associates to the mainstreaming of Gamergate.
  • Summary: Steve Bannon took over Breitbart around 2012, the same period 4chan’s politically incorrect board launched, positioning Breitbart to drive Gamergate into mainstream news by 2014. Epstein was friends with Bannon, and while direct correspondence is documented from 2017, their social adjacency predates this, possibly through Brock Pierce connections starting around 2013-2014.
Epstein’s Breitbart Consumption Shock
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(00:59:29)
  • Key Takeaway: Epstein sent a Breitbart article about Trump and Hillary Clinton to Obama’s White House counsel, Kathy Rumler, in May 2016, indicating his growing, yet still nascent, interest in right-wing media.
  • Summary: In May 2016, Epstein emailed a Breitbart article to Kathy Rumler, who responded by expressing greater concern over Epstein reading Breitbart than the article’s content itself. This exchange suggests Epstein was relatively new to consuming Breitbart content and was sharing it casually, indicating an organic shift toward right-wing media consumption.
Russian Influence and Fascist Theory
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(01:02:02)
  • Key Takeaway: An email from Epstein Island suggested Epstein research Alexander Dugin, a right-wing philosopher whose ideas appeal to Silicon Valley figures seeking the collapse of the US nation-state.
  • Summary: A postscript from an emailer on Epstein Island suggested reading about Alexander Dugin, a right-wing theorist advocating for a multipolar world, which aligns with the goals of some Silicon Valley elites seeking to govern city-states without oversight. This points to potential Russian-connected influence pushing Epstein toward anti-US political theory.
Funding White Nationalism
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(01:03:09)
  • Key Takeaway: In 2015, Jeffrey Epstein donated $25,000 to the YouTube channel of French white nationalist Juan Jean-François Garyapi, who advocates for a white ethnostate.
  • Summary: Epstein donated $25,000 to Juan Jean-François Garyapi’s white supremacist channel in 2015, an influencer who advocates for a white ethnostate and believes men should own their wives. Garyapi’s ex-wife disappeared in 2023, and he previously faced accusations of emotional abuse and an inappropriate relationship with a research assistant during a custody battle.
Epstein’s Pilled Ideology and Crypto
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(01:06:11)
  • Key Takeaway: By 2016, Epstein was funding thinkers supporting ‘biological hierarchy’ and ‘fascism as efficiency’ while simultaneously embracing Bitcoin to dismantle the existing financial system.
  • Summary: Epstein became increasingly ‘pilled’ after 2015, supporting concepts like biological hierarchy, gender determinism, and population culling, viewing this as a counter-revolutionary movement. He saw cryptocurrency as a way to reinvent money decoupled from democratic governance, aligning with his desire to destroy the global order.
Brexit, Thiel, and Asset Fire Sale
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(01:07:21)
  • Key Takeaway: Following Brexit in 2016, Epstein and Peter Thiel celebrated the move toward tribalism and away from globalization as an opportunity to buy public assets in a fire sale, similar to Russian oligarchs after the Soviet collapse.
  • Summary: Epstein emailed Peter Thiel after Brexit, stating it was ‘just the beginning’ of a return to tribalism and counter to globalization, which they agreed was beneficial. Their shared goal was destroying the liberal democratic order so they could acquire public assets cheaply, mirroring post-Soviet privatization tactics.