U.S. Documents Reveal Stephen Hawking’s 2006 Photos with Jeffrey Epstein on Private Island
By Zoe Papadakis | February 25, 2026
A photograph of the late physicist Stephen Hawking seated on a sun lounger between two women wearing bikinis has surfaced in documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of its investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The image, shared by The Telegraph and contained within millions of federal records, shows Hawking fully clothed and holding a tropical cocktail.
The women beside him, whose faces are redacted, were understood to have been his long-term caregivers.
According to the documents, the photograph was taken in 2006 during a scientific conference at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, where Hawking delivered a lecture on quantum cosmology.
Hawking, who lived with motor neurone disease for more than five decades, died in 2018 at the age of 76.
His name appears approximately 250 times across the released records. The documents also include images of the scientist on Epstein’s private island, Little Saint James, such as a March 2006 barbecue and photographs from boat excursions and a submarine tour with an unidentified blonde woman.
The records indicate that Epstein arranged for a submarine to be modified to accommodate Hawking, who had not previously been underwater.
Hawking was among 21 scientists who visited the island five months before Epstein was charged with soliciting minors.
Correspondence from 2015 is included in the documents. In one email, Epstein discussed addressing allegations made by Virginia Giuffre that Hawking had participated in sexual activity involving underage girls. Giuffre, who died by suicide in April 2025 at age 41, had long alleged she was trafficked by Epstein and sexually abused by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, a man who denied wrongdoing.
The email stated: “You can issue a reward to any of Virginia’s friends, acquaintances, or family who come forward and help prove her allegations are false.” It also included the phrase: “The strongest is the Clinton dinner, and the new version in the Virgin Islands that Stephen Hawking participated in an underage orgy.”
Epstein’s former partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, currently serving a prison sentence for sex trafficking offenses, responded to the proposal as a “seriously bad idea.”
The records also reference an FBI tip about Epstein and Hawking attending an “all-male gay club” in 2011. The allegation was not substantiated.
A source described the location as a bathhouse and told authorities he had seen “important men” there but did not know their identities at the time, according to a Ynet report. The person added: “Epstein and Hawking were there with some Russian men. I recognized them from the news.” However, this account could not be independently confirmed.
Hawking’s visit to St. Thomas coincided with a conference titled “Energy of Empty Space That Isn’t Zero” held at the Ritz-Carlton.
Participants reportedly paid $1,600 per night for accommodations, though Epstein also hosted members of the group on his private island.
The documents show that Epstein sought relationships with prominent scientists, several of whom are named in the records without being accused of misconduct.
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been a reporter, writer, and editor for newspapers, magazines, and websites.
