Boris Nikolic

Nikolic's formal relationship with Bill Gates ran through bgC3, Gates's private think tank and research office, where Nikolic held the title of Chief Science Advisor ³. The role connected him to Gates Foundation scientific program officers and grantmaking workflows ³.

A December 2010 email from Gates to Nikolic reads: "I wont be able to do the dinner with Jeff Epstein. I was looking forward to the dinner. Nathan had agreed with you that I would enjoy meeting with him" ¹⁵. The message places Nikolic as the routing contact for at least one planned Gates–Epstein meeting in 2010 ¹.

On September 3, 2013, Gates and Nikolic executed a Letter of Agreement Regarding Purchase of Partnership Interest covering co-investments in Foundation Medicine and ResearchGate, with Nikolic serving as an observer board member at Foundation Medicine ²⁶. The partnership payment period was extended to September 3, 2018 by amendment dated October 6, 2015 ². The agreement appeared in Epstein's email corpus, which indicates it was shared with Epstein by one of the signatories or a person with access to Nikolic's files ²⁶.

Eight days after the partnership was executed, on September 11, 2013, Nikolic attended the IPI–Gates Foundation meeting at the Gates campus in Redmond, listed on the agenda as "Scientific Advisor" ³⁷. The meeting concerned the International Peace Institute polio eradication grant proposal, which later became Gates Foundation grant OPP1096058 at $2.5 million ³. Taken together, the September 2013 meeting agenda and the IPI grant record place Nikolic inside the Gates organization at the point where Epstein's IPI grant brokering intersected with Foundation review ³.

Email records from 2011–2015 indicate Nikolic's contacts with Epstein extended beyond the professional sphere ⁸. Nikolic transmitted an NDA for 9 East 71st Street, Epstein's Manhattan residence, to Epstein in April 2011 ⁸. An August 6, 2013 email from Lesley Groff to Nikolic identifies the tail number of Epstein's plane and references Karyna Shuliak updating him on timing ⁸⁹; the body reads "The tail # Of Jeffrey's plane is N9091" and continues "Karyna can update you tomorrow on exact ti=ing since she will be with" ⁸⁹. A breakfast at the 71st Street residence on July 11, 2015 is documented in the corpus ¹⁰.

On January 24, 2013, Nikolic emailed Epstein: "Yesterday, I wanted to punch a guy yesterday that does not like you. From Highbridge capital"; Epstein replied "better than punching him, get his name" ¹¹¹². The exchange has Nikolic reporting perceived hostility toward Epstein inside a financial firm and Epstein requesting identification of the critic ¹¹.

On June 15, 2015, Nikolic wrote to Epstein that his next message would introduce "=lya Ponamarov", described as "a member of Duma" ⁸¹³. Ilya Ponomarev was then a Russian State Duma member living in exile ⁸. No subsequent Epstein–Ponomarev correspondence has been identified in the corpus ⁸.

EFTA records indicate Epstein obtained World Economic Forum Annual Meeting participant lists for 2011 and 2013 from Nikolic and used those contacts for introductions ¹⁴. Nikolic emailed Epstein the 2011 participants list on January 18 and January 19, 2011, and the 2013 participants list on January 17, 2013 with the message "Pls check if =here is anyone that I should meet" ¹⁵¹⁶¹⁷. A June 27, 2014 email from Nicole Junkermann to Epstein states "I spoke to boris he will do is bestand co-sponsor me but he had nominated...", which the documentary record attributes to Nikolic's role in a WEF nomination ¹⁴¹⁸.

Three EFTA email threads from 2012–2017 indicate Nikolic was the recurring contact point between Kimbal Musk and Epstein ¹⁹.

A September 2012 email thread routed a gala invitation through Nikolic to Epstein and associates ¹⁹²⁰. An October 2012 exchange documents a lunch at Epstein's 71st Street residence at which Kimbal Musk is recorded as an invitee, with logistics coordinated between Epstein's assistant Lesley Groff and Kimbal's assistant ¹⁹²¹. In a February 2013 thread, Kimbal Musk shared news of his divorce with Nikolic, who then relayed it to Epstein ¹⁹²². In April 2017 Nikolic wrote to Epstein from TED: "Kimbal, elon, and few new interesting for you are around here" ¹⁹.

A separate record documents that Epstein held $5 million in preferred stock in Jawbone (AliphCom), that Jawbone CEO Hosain Rahman corresponded directly with Epstein from at least 2013 through July 2018, and that Nikolic facilitated the Jawbone connection ^23242526. Read together, the Kimbal Musk correspondence and the Jawbone record indicate Nikolic was a recurring connective contact between Epstein's technology interests and several Silicon Valley principals during this period ¹⁹²³.

The 1953 Trust, named for Epstein's birth year, was executed on August 8, 2019, two days before Epstein's death ⁴. Primary trustees were Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn ⁴. The trust instrument states: "BORIS NIKOLIC shall be appointed to fill any such vacancy, and if he is unwilling or unable to serve, BARNABY MARSH shall be appointed to fill any such vacancy" ⁴²⁷. Nikolic publicly stated he was surprised by the designation and declined to serve ⁴.

The full succession chain runs from Indyke and Kahn as primary trustees to Nikolic as first alternate, Barnaby Marsh as second, Anthony Barrett as third, Kathy Ruemmler as fourth, David Mitchell as fifth, Steve Hanson as sixth, and Eva Dubin as seventh ²⁸. That ordering places Nikolic ahead of Ruemmler, who had served as Epstein's lawyer for five years and was named trustee of a separate instrument ²⁸. Execution came forty-eight hours before Epstein's August 10, 2019 death at the Metropolitan Correctional Center ⁴²⁸.

The connection records and findings group Nikolic's documented Epstein-graph contacts into four clusters ³⁸¹⁴.

Gates philanthropic network. Via bgC3, Nikolic had working access to Gates Foundation scientific advisory processes and grant pipelines, including the September 11, 2013 IPI–Gates meeting at which he was listed as Scientific Advisor ³⁷. He co-invested with Gates in Foundation Medicine and ResearchGate under the September 3, 2013 partnership agreement ²⁶. See Jeffrey Epstein and International Peace Institute.

Silicon Valley investment contacts. A shared Epstein schedule in October 2014 places Thiel and Nikolic on the same day, Thiel at 12 pm and Nikolic at 2 pm ²⁹³⁰. See Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen.

Kimbal Musk and Jawbone. The Kimbal Musk email threads and the Jawbone record are discussed in the preceding section; see Kimbal Musk ¹⁹²³.

Apollo contacts. A connection record places Nikolic on an Epstein calendar shared with Joshua Harris during the documented period of Apollo’s engagement with Epstein ³¹. See also Leon Black.

WEF participation. EFTA emails from January 2011 and January 2013 show Nikolic forwarding World Economic Forum Annual Meeting participant lists to Epstein ¹⁵¹⁶¹⁷. The same records indicate Nikolic played a role in a WEF nomination for Nicole Junkermann alongside Larry Summers ¹⁴¹⁸.