Boris Nikolic

Boris Nikolic is a Croatian-American physician, venture capitalist, and former chief science adviser to Bill Gates whose name appears more than 14,000 times in Justice Department files released from the Epstein archive—among the most frequently referenced individuals in the release.¹ He is also the person Epstein designated as backup executor in a will signed two days before his death in August 2019, a designation Nikolic publicly repudiated within days.²

The significance of Nikolic's position lies not merely in the correspondence count but in what the emails document: a relationship that began around 2009, deepened through shared dinners with Gates, James Staley, and Lawrence Summers, and by the 2011–2014 period had extended to lurid exchanges about women's photographs and commentary on Gates's private romantic life.³ Nikolic served as the functional connective tissue between Epstein's ambitions in science philanthropy and Gates's inner circle, making him the clearest documented back channel from Epstein into one of the most consequential private science-funding ecosystems of the early 21st century. See also Bill Gates.

Background and Professional Career

Nikolic earned his M.D. from Zagreb Medical School before joining Harvard's graduate immunology program in 1994, eventually rising to assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.⁴ His academic work on transplantation immunology established credibility that made him attractive to Gates as a science translator—someone who could evaluate cutting-edge proposals in genomics, vaccines, and global health without the credentials being in doubt.

Gates hired Nikolic as chief science adviser across two overlapping roles: his private investment office, bgC3, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, where Nikolic evaluated proposals and directed philanthropic capital into life sciences. He authored more than 70 articles and patent applications and co-founded several biotechnology companies that were subsequently acquired.⁵ In 2016 Nikolic left Gates's employ to launch Biomatics Capital Partners, a Seattle-based venture fund targeting genomics and precision medicine that raised approximately $150 million in its inaugural fund.⁶

Introduction to Epstein

The documented path to Epstein runs through Dr. Melanie Walker, a neurosurgeon who worked inside the Gates Foundation after a prior relationship with Epstein. In 2009, when Nikolic was preparing to transition from the Foundation to Gates's private bgC3 office, Walker arranged an introduction and, according to reporting, spoke favorably of Epstein while minimizing the significance of his 2008 Florida conviction for soliciting a prostitute who investigators said was a minor.⁷ Nikolic met Epstein, found his ideas about elite philanthropy and scientific fundraising compelling, and by January 2011 was seated alongside Gates, Staley, and Summers at a private dinner at Epstein's East 71st Street townhouse where Epstein pitched a JP Morgan-backed global health fund.⁸

That dinner sits at the center of the documented Gates-Epstein relationship, but Nikolic's engagement with Epstein did not end with dinner-table introductions. The DOJ files show correspondence spanning 2009 to 2014 in which Nikolic relayed intelligence about Gates's preferences, discussed women by appearance, and in at least one exchange asked Epstein for nude or semi-nude photographs of women he described as "hot girls."³ Bloomberg's March 2026 report on the files described Nikolic as having "served as conduit" between Gates and Epstein, extending a relationship that was partly professional and partly social in character.³

The Draft Documents

Among the more contested items in the released archive are draft emails dated July 2013 that were written in Epstein's own account but composed in Nikolic's voice. One draft appears to be a resignation letter from Nikolic addressed to the Gates Foundation. Another contains claims—attributed to a Nikolic persona—that Gates had contracted a sexually transmitted infection and sought antibiotics.⁹ These drafts were not sent and have not been authenticated as statements by Nikolic, and Gates's representatives called the claims false. The existence of the drafts suggests Epstein was gathering or constructing compromising material about people in Gates's orbit, a pattern consistent with pressure tactics documented in other parts of the Epstein archive.⁹

Backup Executor in Epstein's Will

Epstein signed his last will and testament on August 8, 2019. He died on August 10. The will—filed in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and covering an estate then valued at approximately $577 million—named Darren Indyke and Richard Kahn, Epstein's longtime attorneys, as primary co-executors, with Nikolic listed as successor executor should either primary executor be unable to serve.²

Nikolic's spokesperson said he was "shocked" to learn of the designation and that he had not been consulted. Nikolic stated he had "no intent to fulfill these duties, whatsoever," and he formally declined the role within days of the will becoming public.¹⁰ The timing—a will executed 48 hours before Epstein's death in federal custody, naming a prominent biotech investor and Gates confidant without prior notice—generated sustained press coverage and questions about what Epstein intended by the choice. No evidence has emerged that Nikolic had advance knowledge of the designation.

The November 2025 Email Release

On November 12, 2025, the House Oversight Committee released a tranche of Epstein email correspondence drawn from the Justice Department's review of the estate documents.¹¹ The release covered communications spanning roughly 2009 through mid-2019 and included hundreds of emails either sent by Nikolic to Epstein, sent by Epstein to Nikolic, or referencing Nikolic by name. Among the documented exchanges: Nikolic informing Epstein that he had met Bill Clinton and was scheduled to meet Prince Andrew to discuss Microsoft-related matters, with Epstein encouraging the contact.¹²

The figure of 14,000-plus references to Nikolic's name in the full DOJ file corpus—a number cited in PBS and other coverage of the release—reflects the breadth of the correspondence rather than 14,000 discrete emails; the actual email count from Nikolic's accounts within the archive is a subset of that figure and has not been precisely published as of mid-2026.¹¹³ What coverage of the release has noted is that Nikolic's name recurs across the correspondence with unusual frequency for a non-celebrity associate.

Post-Epstein Trajectory

Following the 2019 media exposure, Nikolic stepped back from public fundraising for Biomatics Capital. By 2026 he had returned, with STAT News reporting in March 2026 that he was re-engaging the biotech venture community, describing Epstein in subsequent public statements as a "master manipulator" and expressing regret for the association.¹⁴ He has not been charged with any crime in connection with Epstein. Gates's team confirmed in 2026 that Nikolic had discussed Gates's extramarital relationships with Epstein, though the exact scope of those disclosures remains contested.³

Year	Event	Impact
2006	Walker joins Gates Foundation; later connects Nikolic to Epstein	Builds introduction path
2009	Nikolic transitions to Gates's private bgC3 office; Walker introduces him to Epstein	First documented Epstein contact
2011 Jan	Dinner at Epstein townhouse—Gates, Nikolic, Staley, Summers	Core Gates-Epstein relationship cemented
2011–2014	Email correspondence including exchanges about women and Gates's private life	Documented in DOJ archive
2013 Jul	Draft resignation letter and STI allegations composed in Epstein's account	Suggests Epstein building a pressure file
2016	Nikolic leaves Gates employ; launches Biomatics Capital Partners	Departs institutional Gates orbit
2019 Aug 8	Epstein signs will naming Nikolic backup executor	Two days before Epstein's death
2019 Aug 10	Epstein dies; Nikolic publicly declines executor role	States he was not consulted
2025 Nov 12	House Oversight Committee releases Epstein email tranche	Nikolic emerges as most-referenced associate
2026 Mar	Bloomberg and STAT News report on Nikolic's role as Gates-Epstein conduit	Renewed scrutiny; Nikolic re-enters VC market