Peter Attia, MD, is the most famous longevity influencer in a country increasingly obsessed with longevity. His 2023 book, Outlive, has sold more than three million copies, recommended by everyone from Bill Ackman to Hugh Jackman. He’s treated Chris Hemsworth on television via cold plunging and a four-day fast, before going spearfishing for a meal off the Great Barrier Reef, to “unlock his body’s own anti-aging powers.” He was profiled on 60 Minutes before CBS News head Bari Weiss recently named him a contributor to the network. His podcast has more than a million subscribers on YouTube; he says he charges about $100,000 a year for his concierge medical practice. Until Tuesday he was the chief science officer at of-the-moment protein bar David, and he is the focus of a highly engaged subreddit.
And, as we all discovered late last week when the Department of Justice released a huge cache of new files, he was also a close friend and confidante of Jeffrey Epstein.
The many exchanges between Epstein and Attia start in 2015, well after Epstein pleaded guilty to procuring a child for prostitution and was a registered sex offender. The emails get increasingly chummy through 2019, the year of Epstein’s arrest and death.
Taken together, the emails suggest a close—even intimate—relationship. Attia and Epstein discussed Epstein’s MRIs, his blood work, and his medications, with Attia giving medical advice. Although Attia has said that he was not Epstein’s doctor, their relationship certainly extended in that direction; Attia even explicitly offered to take Epstein as an official patient.
Attia’s pitch: “Have you decided if you’re interested in living longer (solely for the ladies, of course)?” Epstein’s reply: “i can pay to be one of your clients. dont [sic] be shy you are a valuable friend and resource.”
In hundreds of emails, the two also banter about real estate (Epstein once lent Attia one of his Manhattan apartments while Attia waited for his own rental to finalize) and about the 2016 election (Epstein thought Hillary Clinton would win). After Attia’s wife kicks him out, Attia confides in Epstein, “I’m fixing my life.” They engage in a constant churn of scheduling and rescheduling (“let’s make a plan in new year”), as is necessary when one is constantly off to Palm Beach, the ranch, or the private island. In 2016, Attia cracked a special inside joke: “Pussy is, indeed, low carb. Still awaiting results on gluten content, though.”
Some of the most disturbing email chains start off vaguely health-related and go sideways. In a recent statement, Attia claims that an email he sent with the subject line “Got a fresh shipment,” was referring to a private stash of metformin, a diabetes drug that some in the longevity world take off-label to combat aging. But Epstein apparently turned the conversation back to his more personal interests. He replied “me too,” attaching a photo, which Attia maintains was of an adult woman. (The photo is not included in the files.) Attia replied: “Please tell [me] you found that picture online…bastard.” Epstein: “fraid not.” Attia: “the biggest problem with becoming friends with you? The life you lead is so outrageous, and yet I can’t tell a soul…”