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2013-2014SudanAfrica

Epstein bridged Greg Wyler, the World Bank and the mobile king of Africa

On the night of September 14, 2014, Greg Wyler, the founder of African satellite-internet venture O3b, asked Epstein for time-sensitive context on a woman who wanted to talk to him that night. Epstein answered the next morning: she worked for the World Bank, knew Africa, and had been with the mobile king. The mobile king is Mo Ibrahim, the Sudanese-British billionaire who built Celtel into Africa's largest mobile operator. The woman was Melanie Walker, a Gates Foundation veteran then at the World Bank, married to former Microsoft Windows president Steve Sinofsky.

On September 6, 2013, Olivier Colom, who advised Epstein from inside Edmond de Rothschild Group, sent a one-line itinerary update: "FYI: We'll have dinner with Mo Ibrahim on Sunday 22" (vol00009-efta00969835-pdf-0). Epstein answered "great." Mo Ibrahim is the Sudanese engineer who built Celtel into the largest mobile operator across sub-Saharan Africa before selling it to Zain in 2005, then founded the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, the Africa-governance prize that bears his name.

A year later, late on Sunday September 14, 2014, Greg Wyler emailed Epstein. Wyler had founded O3b Networks, the satellite venture aimed at the "other three billion" who had no internet, with launches across Africa as the headline use case. Epstein had told him to expect contact from someone: "melanie husband is steve sinofsky" (vol00009-efta00625928-pdf-3). Wyler replied within minutes: "She said she wanted to talk tonight and it was time sensitive.... Do you know the topic?" (vol00009-efta00625928-pdf-2).

Epstein answered the next morning. "she works for the world bank, knows africa , and had the mobile king with her" (vol00009-efta00625928-pdf-1). The CC line on Epstein's reply read "adreeson horowitz" (vol00009-efta00996880-pdf-0), a misspelling of the venture firm Andreessen Horowitz where Steve Sinofsky was a board partner. Wyler answered the same day at 10:44 a.m. "I have met him a few times..." (vol00009-efta00625928-pdf-0). He had. Through Colom and Epstein, Wyler had been on a dinner orbit with Mo Ibrahim since at least September 2013.

The four sides of the thread map cleanly. Mo Ibrahim built African mobile. Wyler was building African satellite internet. Walker, formerly at the Gates Foundation and by 2014 at the World Bank, was the development principal. Andreessen Horowitz was the Silicon Valley capital. Epstein had no role in any of those institutions. Walker came to him to reach Wyler. Wyler came to him to identify Walker. Mo Ibrahim moved between them on Epstein's introductions.

Source emails