Robert Trivers Sent Epstein a 'Little Ethnic Humour' About Igbo Slaves

On March 21, 2018, Robert Trivers emailed Epstein. The subject line was "Re: LEVI'S?" The body opened: "here is a little ethnic humour for you." What followed was a story Trivers attributed to an "Ibo friend in New Jersey" about why Jamaicans are violent. "The Ibo were long known to be the most obstreperous tribe in Nigeria," Trivers wrote. "They tried to secede from Nigeria in the 1960's, leading to a 5-year 'Biafran War' before the numerically superior Yoruba suppressed them." His punchline: "BECAUSE MANY IBO SLAVES IN THE US GOT 'EXRADICTED' TO JAMAICA!" (vol00009-efta00850450-pdf-0).

Trivers then estimated the market price of a slave. "A strapping young adult man (such as yourself a few years back) was worth $2500 in 1850 dollars, which is about $75,000 US in today's dollars. So you sold him at a loss, say for $1500, to a slave trader who promptly shipped him to Jamaica." The parenthetical was addressed directly to Epstein. Trivers closed: "about to board a flight to Florida" (vol00009-efta00850450-pdf-0).

Robert Trivers is not an obscure figure. He is one of the most cited evolutionary biologists alive, a Rutgers professor known for foundational work on reciprocal altruism and parent-offspring conflict. He won the Crafoord Prize in 2007. He had a sustained personal relationship with Epstein. On December 4, 2013, Lesley Groff's schedule for Epstein's Manhattan townhouse listed: "12:30pm: Lunch with Robert Trivers." The same day included appointments with Josh Harris, Josh Ramo, and Thijs Hovers, with Ehud Barak also in New York (EFTA02120340-0).

In December 2017, Trivers wrote Epstein a Happy New Year letter from Fort Lauderdale. He thanked Epstein for his "warm support" and described a financial arrangement. Trivers had told the president of Chapman University that he "had a friend who said that if i ever got an offer worth considering he would match it (your 80/20 split of 100)." The implication: Epstein had pledged to match 80% of any serious academic offer Trivers received, up to $100,000. Trivers planned to reverse the pitch and have Chapman match Epstein's money for genetics research on "elite sprinters and the West African populations from which they sprang" (EFTA02556767-0).

The same letter closed with a financial update. "After all i know very little of your mental life except that its calming influence has left me $160,000 richer than a year ago." Trivers signed off: "warmest best, bob. p.s. please warn me if i should convert all of my stocks to cash" (EFTA02556767-0). Three months later, he sent the Igbo slave joke.