When Elon Musk met Ghislaine Maxwell at a 2014 gala, (2) she reportedly asked him if “there were a way to remove oneself from the internet,” and encouraged Mr. Musk to destroy the internet.

But the internet is forever, and combined with current technologies, it's now possible to conduct comprehensive network analysis quickly, accelerating a process that previously took months. Using custom tools developed by America 2.0, we performed such an analysis, focusing on five characters central to the current controversy: Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and Rupert Murdoch.

We included Epstein's entire, unredacted “black book,” as well as the flight logs for his private jet, the Lolita Express. We also examined several other ancillary networks known to have at least some overlap, including figures adjacent to Iran-Contra, September 11, and Ghislaine Maxwell's father, Robert Maxwell. Drawing from a range of sources, we considered 908 potentially related people and organizations, with 2,194 connections between them. After reviewing for accuracy and relevance, we focused on 209 entities (with 642 relationships) as most pertinent.

Importantly, inclusion in our study does not imply guilt — indeed we have included a range of people relevant to the current power struggle that ranges from tech executives with no ties to Epstein, to victims. We aimed to reveal the networks currently in conflict, while also tempering speculation about the scope and nature of Epstein's activities. Here's what we learned.

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America 2.0 is dedicated to advancing democracy in the United States and around the world by promoting understanding, connection, and participation between citizens and institutions. We feature journalism that helps identify and promote positive, forward-looking visions for democracy and democratic values.
David Troy, Publisher and Editor

David ( "Dave" ) Troy is an investigative journalist covering the intersection of technology and democracy. With a background as both a tech entrepreneur and historian, he brings a unique perspective to analysis of geopolitics, information warfare, and other current events. He is the publisher and editor of America 2.0, and also writes a monthly column, The Wide Angle for The Washington Spectator. He is the host of the podcast Dave Troy Presents.

When a snapshot of Elon Musk and Ghislaine Maxwell surfaced on social media in 2020, the Tesla and SpaceX chief executive took to Twitter — as he so often does — to explain why he had been photographed with the British socialite, who was later convicted of sex trafficking in connection with the financier Jeffrey Epstein.

“Don’t know Ghislaine at all,” Mr. Musk tweeted in July 2020. “She photo-bombed me once at a Vanity Fair party several years ago. Real question is why VF invited her in the first place.”

It’s not surprising that Mr. Musk felt he had to answer for the photograph, which had been taken six years earlier at the magazine’s Oscars party. His personal life is frequently the subject of intense speculation.

As it turns out, their meeting was slightly more than a photo bomb.
According to a Vanity Fair staff member at the time who stood next to Ms. Maxwell and Mr. Musk and shared contemporaneous notes with The Times, the pair chatted. Ms. Maxwell asked Mr. Musk if there were a way to remove oneself from the internet and encouraged Mr. Musk to destroy the internet; Mr. Musk demurred. .