In July 2016, best-selling author and wellness guru Deepak Chopra contacted Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, to thank him for his hospitality. By email, Chopra wrote that he was glad that philanthropist Barnaby Marsh had introduced them in person. Chopra added that he was “grateful” for what he saw as the beginning of a friendship.
Within a few weeks, this new friendship deepened. They exchanged gossipy emails about Epstein’s friendship with Donald Trump and Marla Maples, Trump’s second wife. Epstein recounted a story about losing a $10,000 bet to Trump and about a friend of Maples who was rumored to have used high-heeled shoes as sex toys.
