John Brockman is a literary agent, author, and founder/president of the Edge Foundation (EIN 13-3528667), a nonprofit that hosted annual billionaires' dinners and intellectual salons. Epstein funded approximately 74% of Edge Foundation's budget ; $638,000 of $857,000 in total revenue ; making Epstein the organization's dominant financial backer. Brockman played a central role as Epstein's intellectual gatekeeper, facilitating introductions between Epstein and prominent scientists including Marvin Minsky (MIT AI pioneer), Steven Pinker (Harvard psychologist), Lawrence Krauss (physicist), Daniel Dennett (philosopher), and many others.
Through Edge Foundation events and his literary agency, Brockman enabled Epstein to cultivate an aura of intellectual legitimacy. After Epstein's arrest in 2019, Brockman's role in connecting the scientific community to Epstein came under intense scrutiny. Edge Foundation effectively ceased operations, and several scientists publicly disavowed their Epstein connections that had been brokered through Brockman.
| Date | From | To | Aircraft | Passengers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002-02-20 | John F. Kennedy International, NY | MRY Airport | N908JE (Boeing 727) |