Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘Baby Ranch’: How the Sex Offender Planned a ‘Super Race’ of Humans

Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy financier who died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019

While awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges, allegedly nurtured a disturbing ambition long before his arrest: to use his wealth, land and influence to propagate his own DNA and create what he privately described as a “super race” of humans.

Over several years, Epstein confided to scientists and associates that he wanted to impregnate multiple women at his sprawling New Mexico estate, an idea some who heard it referred to as a “baby ranch.” According to a New York Times investigation, Epstein envisioned his Zorro Ranch near Santa Fe as a site where women would be inseminated with his sperm and give birth to his children. There is no evidence the plan was ever implemented, nor any indication that it crossed legal boundaries.

Epstein’s thinking was rooted in his fascination with transhumanism, a loosely defined movement that advocates using technology — including genetic engineering and artificial intelligence — to enhance human abilities. Critics have long drawn parallels between aspects of transhumanist ideology and eugenics, the discredited early-20th-century belief in improving humanity through selective breeding, later embraced by the Nazis.

Epstein pleaded not guilty to charges that he trafficked girls as young as 14. Investigations later showed that he routinely exaggerated his financial success, misrepresented his professional credentials and overstated his role in science and business. Nevertheless, through wealth and persistence, he cultivated access to powerful figures across politics, finance and academia.

Courting science’s elite

According to the NYT, Epstein used similar tactics to embed himself within elite scientific circles. Among those he associated with were Nobel Prize-winning physicist Murray Gell-Mann, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould and geneticist George M. Church.

Epstein funded conferences, underwrote research initiatives and hosted informal gatherings where scientific ideas were discussed over lavish meals. Some scientists later acknowledged that the prospect of funding dulled their scrutiny of Epstein’s criminal past.

He donated $6.5 million to help establish Harvard University’s Program for Evolutionary Dynamics and funded regular lunches there. Epstein-sponsored conferences were held in the US Virgin Islands, with guests flown in and entertained on his private island. On one occasion, scientists — including Hawking — boarded a submarine chartered by Epstein.

Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker said he attended what were described as salons hosted by Epstein, often at the invitation of colleagues such as Martin Nowak and Lawrence Krauss. Pinker recalled that Epstein dominated conversations and reacted irritably when challenged.

The ‘baby ranch’ idea

At one Harvard gathering, Epstein criticised global efforts to reduce hunger and expand healthcare in poorer countries, arguing such measures fuelled overpopulation. Pinker said he disputed the claim, citing evidence that high infant mortality often leads families to have more children. Epstein, Pinker recalled, appeared annoyed, and Pinker was later told he was no longer welcome at Epstein-hosted events.

From the early 2000s, Epstein told scientists and business figures that he wanted to use Zorro Ranch — a 33,000-square-foot property — as a base where women would be inseminated with his sperm. Two award-winning scientists and a financial adviser independently recalled Epstein describing the plan at dinners and conferences between 2001 and 2006, the NYT reported.

One adviser said he heard about the scheme not only from Epstein but also from a prominent business figure at a Manhattan gathering. All described the plan as unrealistic and deeply unsettling.

A woman identifying herself as a NASA scientist told the NYT that Epstein wanted as many as 20 women pregnant at the ranch at any given time. Epstein reportedly cited the Repository for Germinal Choice — a now-defunct sperm bank that sought donations from Nobel laureates — as inspiration. Only one Nobel Prize winner is known to have participated before the repository closed in 1999.

Epstein also spoke openly about preserving his own body. A transhumanist associate said Epstein discussed cryonics, an unproven practice involving freezing bodies after death in hopes of future revival, and claimed he wanted his head and penis preserved.

Allegations, secrecy and unanswered questions

Whether Epstein ever fathered children remains unknown. Recently released US Justice Department files — part of nearly three million documents made public — contain references suggesting the possibility. Among them is a diary entry by a woman who claims she gave birth to a baby girl around 2002, when she was 16 or 17, and that the child was taken from her shortly after birth under the supervision of Epstein’s former partner, Ghislaine Maxwell. These allegations have not been independently verified.

The woman’s lawyers shared the diary with federal prosecutors. She later filed a civil lawsuit under a pseudonym against financier Leon Black, alleging rape at Epstein’s home. Black has denied the allegations, and the case remains pending.

There has never been public confirmation that Epstein had children, and none are mentioned in his will. His last known partner was Karyna Shuliak, to whom he intended to leave assets including his private island, Manhattan townhouse and $50 million.

An undated video from Epstein’s New York mansion shows a DNA paternity test kit on a table. In a 2011 email, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, congratulated Epstein on the apparent birth of a baby boy, citing information relayed by Prince Andrew. Ferguson later said she had been encouraged to send the message and never received further confirmation.