A photograph of Matthieu Ricard in the presence of Jeffrey Epstein, dated 2015, is circulating online.
Matthieu Ricard has provided the following clarifications:
“I found myself in the presence of Jeffrey Epstein in 2015 in an academic setting, at Harvard, during a meeting with Professor Martin Nowak. He was introduced to me as a financial supporter of the research conducted by this laboratory. He attended our discussion and asked a few questions related to the neuroscience research in which I was involved. Following this meeting, he wished to continue the conversation and, a few weeks later, while he was passing through Paris, asked whether we could meet. I agreed to meet him at the offices of my publishing house. We talked about ongoing research programs and the theories of evolution put forward by Martin Nowak. I did not really understand why he wanted to see me again on these topics, which we had already discussed. After that meeting, I never saw him again, and we did not exchange a single further message. He never gave any money to Karuna-Shechen and was never solicited. I discovered his crimes four years later, when the Epstein affair came to light, and then recognized the name and face of the person I had met in 2015.”
Matthieu Ricard, February 9, 2026