Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy financier accused of sex trafficking, had a disturbing ambition: to spread his DNA by impregnating women on his sprawling New Mexico ranch, according to multiple people familiar with his thinking, The New York Times reported.
Epstein confided his plan to scientists and businessmen over several years, though there is no evidence it was ever carried out, the news outlet said.
The idea was rooted in Epstein’s fascination with transhumanism – a movement that seeks to improve humanity through genetic engineering and advanced technology – a field that critics liken to modern eugenics.
Courting the scientific elite
Despite being a serial fabulist who exaggerated his wealth, influence and intellect, Epstein successfully integrated himself into elite scientific circles using charm, money and access, according to interviews conducted by the news outlet.
Prominent figures associated with Epstein included Nobel laureates Murray Gell-Mann and Frank Wilczek, physicist Stephen Hawking, neurologist Oliver Sacks, evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould, and Harvard geneticist George Church.
Some researchers acknowledged that the lure of funding blinded them to the seriousness of Epstein’s criminal behavior.
Eugenics and the “baby ranch” plan.
According to two award-winning scientists and a business consultant cited by the NYT, Epstein repeatedly talked about using his 33,000-square-foot Zorro Ranch near Santa Fe as a base to impregnate women with his sperm.
One adviser said Epstein openly discussed the plan at gatherings in his Manhattan townhouse, while another scholar recalled hearing it at a 2006 conference in St. Thomas.
The plan reportedly included up to 20 pregnant women at a time. Although deeply disturbing, there is no indication that the idea is illegal.
Screening women at dinner parties
Lanier said he believed Epstein used his dinner parties — often attended by attractive, highly regarded women — to identify potential candidates who would bear his children.
At one dinner, the scientist told Lanier that Epstein’s concept was inspired by the now-defunct Repository for Germinal Choice, a sperm bank aimed at enhancing the human gene pool.
Epstein was charged in July with sex trafficking of girls as young as 14. He pleaded not guilty.