Notorious American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in a New York jail in 2019, allegedly tried to pursue a deeply unsettling idea before his death: using his own sperm to father a very large number of children. The goal, according to allegations, was to create a group of people who would carry Epstein’s DNA.
According to a report by The New York Times, Epstein had spoken for years to scientists and acquaintances about a personal ambition. He reportedly wanted women to become pregnant using his sperm at his large ranch in New Mexico, leading to the birth of many children.
Those who heard about this idea privately described it as a “baby ranch.” However, it remains unclear whether this plan was ever implemented. Even if it was, it is not clearly established whether such an arrangement would be considered a legal crime in itself.
Over the years, investigators and journalists have pointed out that Epstein often exaggerated his financial success, misrepresented his clients, and overstated his role in business and science. Despite this, through money and persistent networking, he managed to build connections with influential figures in politics, finance, and academia.
The New York Times report says Epstein used a similar approach to enter elite scientific circles. He developed relationships with several prominent scientists, including Nobel Prize–winning physicist Murray Gell-Mann, theoretical physicist and author Stephen Hawking, evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould, and neuroscientist George M. Church.
Epstein funded scientific conferences and research costs, and he also arranged informal gatherings where scientists would exchange ideas over expensive meals. Later, many scientists said they had ignored Epstein’s criminal history because they hoped to secure funding for their work.
Epstein donated $6.5 million to Harvard University’s Program for Evolutionary Dynamics. Conferences supported by Epstein were reportedly held in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where guests were flown in by plane and entertained on his private island. On one occasion, Stephen Hawking and other scientists boarded Epstein’s chartered submarine.
Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker said Epstein once invited him to an informal meeting, which also included Pinker’s colleague, mathematician and biologist Martin Nowak, and physicist Lawrence Krauss. Pinker stated that Epstein controlled the discussion in that gathering.
The ‘Baby Ranch’ Idea
At a Harvard discussion meeting, Epstein reportedly criticized initiatives aimed at reducing food shortages and expanding healthcare in poorer countries, claiming such efforts would increase population growth.
Steven Pinker, who attended the meeting, opposed Epstein’s argument. Based on findings from research reports, Pinker argued that higher child mortality rates often lead families to have more children, not fewer.
According to Pinker, Epstein appeared irritated by that response. Later, Pinker learned from a colleague that he would no longer be invited to Epstein-hosted meetings.
In the early 2000s, Epstein reportedly told scientists and business figures that he wanted to use his New Mexico property for this plan. Near the city of Santa Fe, he owned a 33,000-square-foot Zorro Ranch. He allegedly expressed the intention to turn it into a place where women would be made pregnant using his sperm.
The New York Times report cited two award-winning scientists and a person known as an adviser to wealthy individuals, saying that between 2001 and 2006, Epstein discussed this plan during dinners and conferences.
According to an adviser, the idea was not limited to private conversations with Epstein alone. The adviser said they also heard the same plan mentioned by an influential businessman at an event in Manhattan. Those who heard it described it as uncomfortable and unrealistic.
A woman who introduced herself as a NASA scientist claimed Epstein wanted at least 20 women to be pregnant at the ranch at any given time. Epstein was reportedly inspired by the now-defunct sperm bank called the Repository for Germinal Choice.
The Repository for Germinal Choice aimed to collect sperm from Nobel Prize winners, based on the belief that their genes could strengthen humanity. However, before it shut down in 1999, only one Nobel laureate donated sperm to the project.
Epstein also spoke openly about preserving his body. One associate said Epstein discussed cryonics, an unproven method in which bodies are frozen after death in hopes of being revived in the future. According to that associate, Epstein wanted his head and genitalia to be preserved.
Allegations About Children and Secrecy
There is still no clear public answer to whether Epstein ever fathered a child. In recent months, the U.S. Department of Justice released a number of documents related to Epstein. Some references in those materials have led to speculation that he may have become a father.
One such document includes part of a diary in which a woman wrote that she gave birth to a baby girl around 2002, when she was 16 or 17 years old. She claimed the baby was taken from her within minutes of birth and that Epstein’s former partner Ghislaine Maxwell supervised the process.
However, these allegations have not been independently verified, and what happened to the alleged child remains unknown. The woman’s lawyers reportedly submitted the diary to federal prosecutors. She later filed a lawsuit under a pseudonym against investor Leon Black, alleging that Black raped her at Epstein’s house. Black denied the allegations, and the case remains pending.
There is no publicly confirmed evidence that Epstein had children, and his will does not mention any. A woman named Karina Shuliak, described as his last girlfriend, was reportedly set to receive his private island, his Manhattan home, and $50 million.
A video found inside Epstein’s New York residence showed DNA paternity test documents on a table. The recording date of the video was not specified.
In 2011, British author Sarah Ferguson sent Epstein an email congratulating him on the birth of a baby boy. In the email, she wrote that she received the information from the Duke of York. Ferguson later suggested she had been encouraged to send the message. After that, she said she heard nothing further.
