Jeffrey Epstein's 50th birthday greeting album

Trump's signature; Trump allegedly drew the outline of a naked woman and used his signature as pubic hair[1]

In 2003 the friends and acquaintances of the financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein gave him a bound album with personalised greetings for his 50th birthday in 2003.

The existence of the album was made public in July 2025 with the publication of an article in the The Wall Street Journal titled "Jeffrey Epstein's Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump". The article was published amidst the maelstrom surrounding Trump's relationship with Epstein in the summer of 2025.[1] A second article, titled "Jeffrey Epstein's Birthday Book Included Letters From Bill Clinton, Leon Black" was published on 25 July 2025.[2]

The album was assembled by Epstein's close friend, Ghislaine Maxwell, with help from assistants. She asked for "drawings, photos or stories" from associates of Epstein.[2] In her introduction to the album she wrote that she had intended to "gather stories and old photographs to jog your memory about places, people and different events. Some of the letters will definitely achieve their intended goal — some well ...you will have to read them to see for yourself".[3] The collected images and letters were scanned by computer and subsequently bound into an album in calfskin by a bookbinder in New York City. The album is now part of Epstein's estate.[2]

The Wall Street Journal described many of the birthday greetings as "anodyne" but wrote that other were "bawdy and made crude jokes about sex".[2] Multiple digital copies of the album have been created. The album has been reviewed by officials from the United States Justice Department during their investigation into Epstein and his sex trafficking scandals.[2] In August 2025 the New York Times published letters sent to Epstein for his 63rd birthday in 2016.[4]

Partial list of contributors

Contributors to the album were sorted into the groups "Brooklyn", "Business", "Family", "Friends" and "Science".[2]

  • Leon Black contributed a "handwritten poem with a rhyme scheme" which included the acronym "V.F.P.C." which stood for "Vanity Fair Poster Child". This was in reference to a profile of Epstein that was being written for the magazine.[2] The poem contained the lines "Blonde, Red or Brunette, spread out geographically/With this net of fish, Jeff’s now The Old Man and The Sea". He signed the poem "Love and kisses, Leon".[2]
  • Jean-Luc Brunel[2]
  • James Cayne[2]
  • Bill Clinton wrote "It's reassuring isn't it, to have lasted as long, across all the years of learning and knowing, adventures and [illegible word], and also to have your childlike curiosity, the drive to make a difference and the solace of friends".[2]
  • Alan Dershowitz's contribution was a pretend Vanity Unfair magazine cover "with mock headlines".[2]
  • Mark Epstein, Jeffrey's brother.[2]
  • Murray Gell-Mann[3]
  • Alan C. Greenberg[2]
  • Nathan Myhrvold sent photographs from a recent trip to Africa that he had taken which " ... seemed more appropriate than anything I could put in words". The photographs included "a monkey screaming, lions and zebras mating, and a zebra with its penis visible".[2]
  • The letter from Donald Trump was framed by the outline of a naked woman with several lines of typewritten text imagining a conversation between the pair.[1]

"Voice Over: There must be more to life than having everything

Donald: Yes, there is, but I won't tell you what it is.

Jeffrey: Nor will I, since I also know what it is.

Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.

Jeffrey: Yes, we do, come to think of it.

Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?

Jeffrey: As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you.

Trump: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret."

— Trump's letter to Epstein

The WSJ described the drawing as " ... [appearing] to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker. A pair of small arcs denotes the woman's breasts, and [Trump's] signature is a squiggly "Donald" below her waist, mimicking pubic hair".[1]

  • Vera Wang's contribution suggested they go on a shopping trip and joked about Epstein appearing on The Bachelor television series.[2]
  • Leslie Wexner's letter had a "line drawing of what appeared to be a woman's breasts" alongside a short message.[2]
  • Mort Zuckerman's letter joked about having looked for information on Epstein in the New York Daily News, of which he was part owner, said that Epstein was "born in Liechtenstein and had a wife and three children".[2]

Reactions

Several contributors reacted to the publication of the Wall Street Journal articles on the album in July 2025. Many contributors had since disavowed and publically regretted their relationship with Epstein.[2]

Myhrvold said he did not recall his submission and that he "regularly shares photos of and writes about animal behavior" as a wildlife photographer.[2] Trump disowned the letter prior to publication of the Wall Street Journal article in 2025, saying that "This is not me. This is a fake thing. It's a fake Wall Street Journal story" and that he " ... never wrote a picture in my life. I don't draw pictures of women ...It's not my language. It's not my words".[1] Trump subsequently sued the WSJ's publisher, Dow Jones, parent company News Corp and their executives and the reporters of the article for $10 billion in damages.[5] Black, Clinton and Wexner declined to comment.[2] Zuckerman and Wang did not respond to requests for comment.[2] Dershowitz could not recall his contribution.[2]

The Democratic congress members Ro Khanna and Robert Garcia requested a copy of the book by 10 August 2025 as they deemed it essential to their congressional oversight of the Epstein controversy and the Trump administration.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Safdar, Khadeeja; Palazzolo, Joe (17 July 2025). "Jeffrey Epstein's Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 25 July 2025. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Safdar, Khadeeja; Palazzolo, Joe (25 July 2025). "Jeffrey Epstein's Birthday Book Included Letters From Bill Clinton, Leon Black". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 25 July 2025. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  3. ^ a b David Enrich; Matthew Goldstein; Jessica Silver-Greenberg; Steve Eder (24 July 2025). "Trump's Name Is on Contributor List for Epstein Birthday Book". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 July 2025. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  4. ^ David Enrich; Matthew Goldstein; Jessica Silver-Greenberg; Steve Eder (3 August 2025). "Inside Jeffrey Epstein's Manhattan Townhouse: Birthday Letters, First Edition 'Lolita' and More". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 August 2025. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  5. ^ Stanage, Niall (25 July 2025). "5 unanswered questions around Trump and the Epstein saga". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  6. ^ Gambino, Lauren (26 July 2025). "Democrats request copy of Epstein 'birthday book' that reportedly contains Trump poem". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
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