Jeffrey Epstein kept giving big money to Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Institute of 1770 and kept showing up at its splashy Order of the Golden Sphinx galas long after his 2008 sex-crimes conviction, according to newly released records. The filings and follow-up reporting depict him as a repeat, top-tier donor who received VIP treatment and, by at least one account, brought young women to sit at his table. The disclosures have reopened uncomfortable questions in Cambridge and on campus about how university-affiliated groups vet benefactors and account for redirected gifts once a donor’s reputation blows up.
As reported by Bloomberg, the newly public files show Epstein at Hasty Pudding galas from at least 2013 through 2019 and describe him as able to “fill a table with ‘girls.’” According to that reporting, he continued to enjoy donor perks such as prime seating and VIP after-party access even after his earlier conviction was a matter of public record.
The revelations are drawn from the Justice Department’s recent production of Epstein-related records, a massive release that has given reporters access to millions of investigative pages. As outlined by The Washington Post, that disclosure has fueled fresh reporting into Epstein’s networks. Separate donor materials from the Hasty Pudding Institute list a top tier called “Guardians of the Sphinx” at $50,000, a level records show Epstein repeatedly hit.
What the Files Reveal
Journalists combing through the DOJ trove found that Epstein donated at least $375,000 to the Hasty Pudding Institute between 2013 and 2019, a total far larger than the organization had previously acknowledged. The Harvard Crimson reports that the records include one $25,000 payment and one $50,000 payment in 2013, followed by annual $50,000 gifts in later years, routed through entities such as the Jeffrey Epstein Virgin Islands Foundation and Gratitude America.
Institute Response and Ties
In a statement to The Harvard Crimson, Hasty Pudding Institute chairman Andrew L. Farkas described the group’s relationship with Epstein as “professional, not personal” and said the organization has redirected some Epstein-linked funds to anti-trafficking causes. The institute has not publicly detailed every rerouting, a gap that has not gone unnoticed among critics.
The Crimson also published emails indicating that Epstein was still invoking Farkas as a contact as late as 2019. In one exchange, Epstein referred to the two men as “two guardians of the Sphinx,” a nod to the institute’s own donor tier branding that now reads very differently in light of the records.
Local Fallout
Students and alumni have repeatedly pressed Harvard and its alumni groups for a clear accounting of any Epstein-linked money, and the new documents have intensified that scrutiny. The Hasty Pudding’s Man and Woman of the Year festivities went forward in February even as news outlets reported that the donor revelations were being discussed in the background of the celebrations, according to the Associated Press.
Legal and Transparency Questions
The disclosures come as part of a broader Justice Department release ordered under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a production that delivered roughly 3 to 3.5 million pages and prompted lawmakers to demand explanations for redactions and withheld material. The Washington Post reports that the release has renewed calls for clearer rules on how schools and nonprofits handle money from donors whose reputations have been severely damaged.
Harvard and the Hasty Pudding Institute say they regret the association with Epstein and point to charitable redirections of his gifts, but students and watchdog groups are still pushing for a fuller accounting of where every dollar ended up, according to the Associated Press. Reporters continue to sift through the DOJ files for additional links between Epstein and campus institutions, and the latest disclosures are expected to keep pressure on universities and nonprofits to tighten donor screening and improve transparency.
