“Reid Hoffman is the Democrat Party of Wisconsin’s top donor, and it isn’t even close. He’s up to his eyeballs in the Epstein files.”
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin has accepted more than $15 million since 2019 from a billionaire, Reid Hoffman, who is ensnared in the Jeffrey Epstein document dump controversy, including an admitted visit to Epstein’s infamous island.
Reid Garrett Hoffman is the party’s top donor.
A search of his name in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Epstein files database returned 2,668 results. Hoffman, a billionaire who co-founded LinkedIn, sent the Democratic Party of Wisconsin another $100,000 on December 24, 2025, as the Epstein email release scandal was brewing. Two days later, he funneled another $175,000 to the Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee, state records show, at a time when Democrats are trying to flip the state Legislature.
But the party won’t say whether it will return the money, and the Democratic candidates for Wisconsin governor and attorney general won’t say whether the party should (or whether they will refuse to take the party’s money transfers if it doesn’t). Remember that the State Party can funnel money to political candidates in various state races – and has. For example, the party can transfer money to influence the upcoming governor’s and attorney general’s races.
Although Hoffman has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said he visited Epstein’s island for one night to fundraise for MIT, the U.S. Department of Justice’s latest email dump is increasing scrutiny over his extensive ties to Epstein.
For starters, Epstein wrote an email to his assistant Saida Sapieva under the heading “Trip to the Island.” It says, “Reid will take a Virgin America Flight from SFO to Fort Lauderdale, departing at 8:20 am, landing at 4:40 pm.” There’s much, much more. A document submitted to Microsoft board members outlined Hoffman’s alleged interactions with Epstein in great detail (Hoffman remains on that board).
In one email, Epstein wrote that Hoffman should come to his ranch and island, exhorting, “Let’s play.” Hoffman wrote that he was busy with “China visits” but added, “possibly next year.” An email from Epstein to Elon Musk in 2014 reads, “Reid was on the island last weekend…”
Hoffman is also accused of helping rehabilitate Epstein’s reputation AFTER his conviction.
Axios previously reported that Hoffman “appears regretful for his role in enabling Jeffrey Epstein’s post-conviction rehabilitation.” According to the AP, Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges: “one count of soliciting prostitution and one count of soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18,” in 2008, six years before Hoffman’s island visit.
And through it all, Wisconsin Democrats have continued accepting the millions funneled to them by Hoffman. The issue has come up before, and the Democrats continued taking the money. What’s new is that the DOJ’s January 2026 document dump contains even more links between Hoffman and Epstein than were previously known. This post’s thread contains some of the unearthed documents, which can also be obtained via the DOJ’s website.
How important has Hoffman been to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s fundraising hauls? Very. In 2024, his money accounted for almost one-fourth of the total. Hoffman’s millions helped the Democrats “bury” the state GOP in fundraising in 2024.
Read some of the Hoffman/Epstein emails here:
Although he denies wrongdoing, Hoffman expressed regret on X. “Yes, interacting with Epstein post-conviction is something I deeply regret,” he wrote on February 1. “I promise to continue calling for the full release of the Epstein files – the victims deserve justice, and those responsible should be held accountable.”
Reid Hoffman’s Donations to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin
The donations Hoffman has made to Wisconsin Democrats since 2019 are verified through the Wisconsin campaign finance system.
Reid Hoffman has given a whopping $15,355,000 to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers, and the Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee since 2019, Wisconsin Right Now documented through campaign finance records. Of that, $15,160,000 went to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
The Assembly donation is particularly revealing because it comes as Wisconsin Democrats are aggressively trying to take over the Legislature; their goal is to get a trifecta like Minnesota’s.
We first learned about the donations from a conservative source in the business community, who wrote us, “Reid Hoffman is the Democrat Party of Wisconsin’s top donor, and it isn’t even close. He’s up to his eyeballs in the Epstein files. Yet no mainstream media outlet in our state is covering this or asking DPW for comment. Why not?” We then confirmed the information through state records.
Reid Hoffman Responds
Meanwhile, Hoffman has been criticizing other prominent figures, including Donald Trump, whose names appear in the Epstein files, calling it “truly nauseating.” One screenshot he shared referencing Trump in the files, however, appears to be from an anonymous, unverified “tip.” (Hoffman helped fund Jean Carroll’s litigation against Trump, according to the Denver Gazette.)
267 data files mentioning Reid Hoffman. That’s quite a bit pic.twitter.com/8GoVorJcEe
— Sun Tzu (@SunTzusWar) February 1, 2026
On X, he shared a story from the New York Post and suggested the outlet change its story to, “LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman exonerated by Trump’s FBI in newly released Epstein DOJ docs. Release all the files. Prosecute the abusers.” He shared the following document, but it lacks context and doesn’t use the word “exonerated.”
Hoffman has not been criminally charged, arrested, or accused by authorities in connection with the Epstein case or associations.
Will the Democratic Party of Wisconsin Return the Reid Hoffman Millions? Will the Democratic Candidates for Governor Accept the Cash?
We wrote to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and asked whether the party would refund the millions of dollars sent to it by Hoffman since 2019. We also asked whether the party will refuse to accept funds from Hoffman in the future.
No response.
In addition, we also wrote every Democratic candidate for governor and asked whether they would call on the party to do so. We also inquired whether they will refuse to accept any money from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin unless it returns the cash (and whether they will refuse to accept money directly from Hoffman). No one responded (we wrote Mandela Barnes, David Crowley, Sara Rodriguez, Missy Hughes, Francesa Hong, Joel Brennan, and Kelda Roys).
We asked the same questions of Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat.
No response.
Reid Hoffman & Jeffrey Epstein Paper Trail
According to The New York Post, another email from Hoffman’s team says, “Reid will spend the night at 71st,” an alleged reference to Epstein’s Upper East Side townhouse.
“An apparent 2014 scheduling memo lists a variety of dinners and parties, as well as the line: ‘Jeffrey will have Joi Ito and Reid Hoffman will go to the ranch for the weekend (JE did not give exact dates).’ Ito is a Japanese venture capitalist,” The Post reported.
“Saida, please tell Reid that I have his passport. Found in the gift bag they had given me,” Epstein wrote, according to The Post.
“Larry and me and your passport,” Epstein later wrote to Hoffman, according to The Post, which says “Larry” may be a reference to Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.
“Excellent!” exclaimed Hoffman, The Post reported.
Reid Hoffman’s Ties to Sex Offender Jeffrey Epstein Have Been Described as a ‘Significant Liability’
The National Policy Legal System issued a memorandum urging Microsoft Board members to vote against Hoffman’s inclusion on the board, citing his ties to Epstein.
“Mr. Hoffman’s ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein are a significant liability to Microsoft’s reputation,” that document alleged. “As ‘the most connected man in Silicon Valley, Mr. Hoffman pursued and sustained relationships, and maintained professional partnerships to benefit mutual interests, with the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, long after his disreputable character was established.”
“Mr. Epstein was sentenced in Florida in June 2008 to eighteen months in prison, and was required to register as a sex offender in jurisdictions he frequented,” the document says.
“Both during and after release from serving (what most observers considered) an extremely lenient penalty, he continued his jet-setting lifestyle, which included ongoing personal and professional relationships with well-known, wealthy public figures, including Mr. Hoffman,” it adds. “According to several reports based upon lawsuits and publicly released information, Mr. Epstein’s efforts served a dual purpose: to lure these powerful figures into his sex abuse activities for potential blackmailing – many which took place on his private island, Little St. James, in the Virgin Islands – and/or to persuade investors and donors to fund his financial and charitable interests.”
Reports indicate that “Mr. Hoffman’s initial connections to Mr. Epstein stemmed from his partnership with Joi Ito, former Director of the MIT Media Lab. Wired described Mr. Ito as a ‘good friend’ of Mr. Hoffman, and according to Mr. Hoffman’s LinkedIn profile, he served on the Media Lab’s Visiting Committee and Advisory board from July 2014 to December 2021.”
Hoffman and Ito “also visited Little St. James island with Mr. Epstein sometime in 2014. He acknowledged having made one visit for an MIT ‘fundraising trip,’ but records showed a second scheduled trip,” the document alleges. “‘On the second date,’ the Wall Street Journal reported,” [Mr.] Epstein planned to travel with both men from Palm Beach to the island for a weekend and then fly together to Boston.”
According to the document, “It is not clear which 2014 trip Mr. Hoffman admitted to taking. Records obtained by the newspaper also show he was scheduled to stay overnight one night in Mr. Epstein’s New York townhouse in December 2014, followed by a ‘breakfast party’ the following morning with Mr. Epstein, Bill Gates and other guests. Mr. Gates has also come under scrutiny over his ties to Mr. Epstein and visits to his island.”
The document continues: “Mr. Hoffman’s extremely poor judgment leaves many unanswered questions. Recognizing Mr. Epstein as ‘perverse,’ how did Mr. Hoffman justify ongoing collaboration with the convicted pedophile, who maintained his own luxury island to traffic underage girls to fulfill the sexual desires of himself and his associates? How could a highly educated, savvy and allegedly instinctive tech billionaire agree to visit such a place, with such a person, with such a detestable reputation, unless it was intentional, showing utter disregard for his own image and that of the businesses and organizations with which he is identified?”
At best, the center writes, “Mr. Hoffman gave Mr. Epstein access to the upper echelons of science and tech in exchange for donations to the MIT Media Lab, despite Mr. Epstein’s image. In addition, Mr. Hoffman gave Mr. Epstein a platform to restore his image, which Hoffman has admitted: ‘It gnaws me that, by lending my association, I helped his reputation, and thus delayed justice for his survivors.'”
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