The Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation was a private foundation established in 2000 by New York convicted sex offender and financier

Jeffrey Epstein Jeffrey Edward Epstein ( , ; January 20, 1953August 10, 2019) was an American financier and child sex offender. Born and raised in New York City, Epstein began his professional career as a teacher at the Dalton School, despite lacking a col ...

. Officially registered as J. Epstein VI Foundation, the "VI" stands for

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands () are an archipelago between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Caribbean Sea, geographically forming part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, Caribbean islands or West Indie ...

, where the foundation was based and Epstein owned a private island. The foundation's board included Cecile de Jongh, wife of the former governor of the United States Virgin Islands, John de Jongh.

Activity

In 2003, the foundation pledged $30 million to

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

''The Harvard Crimson'', June 5, 2003, "People in the News: Jeffrey E. Epstein

/ref> to establish the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, directed by

Martin Nowak Martin Andreas Nowak (born April 7, 1965) is an Austrian-born professor of mathematics and biology at Harvard University. He is a researcher in evolutionary dynamics, and has made contributions to the fields of evolutionary theory and viral dy ...

, a professor of mathematics and biology. The university received only $6.5 million of this pledge. The foundation also supported NEURO.tv, a video series featuring experts discussing topics related to the brain, and the

OpenCog OpenCog is a project that aims to build an open source artificial intelligence framework. OpenCog Prime is an architecture for robot and virtual embodied cognition that defines a set of interacting components designed to give rise to human-equiva ...

project, an open-source software initiative for

Artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

. From 2005 until 2007, the foundation funded the work of geneticist George Church for “cutting edge science & education." Over the years, the foundation convened many of these scientists in conferences to discuss the consensus on fundamental science topics such as gravity, global threats to the Earth and language.''National Review Online'', July 10, 2013, "Evolution at Harvard: How Financier Jeffrey Epstein Changed the Course of Evolutionary Studies at Harvard University

/ref> As a representative of the foundation, Epstein sat on the Mind, Brain and Behavior Advisory Committee at

, and was involved in the

Santa Fe Institute The Santa Fe Institute (SFI) is an independent, nonprofit theoretical research institute located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States and dedicated to the multidisciplinary study of the fundamental principles of complex adaptive systems, inc ...

, the Theoretical Biology Initiative at the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

, and the Quantum Gravity Program at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. Epstein also served on the

Trilateral Commission The Trilateral Commission is a nongovernmental international organization aimed at fostering closer cooperation between Japan, Western Europe and North America. It was founded in July 1973, principally by American banker and philanthropist David ...

and the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

References

External links

*
The Program for Evolutionary Dynamics
{{authority control Scientific foundations based in the United States 2000 establishments in the United States Foundation