Professor Stephen Hawking is seen grinning from ear-to-ear sandwiched between two bikini-clad women in a photo released in the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Hawking and the two women are shown holding what appears to be fruity cocktails as they bask in the sunshine.
It is unclear when or where the image was taken, though it is possible it was taken on Epstein’s Little Saint James Island in the US Virgin Islands.
The Cambridge theoretical physicist was among 21 internationally renowned scientists who attended a conference hosted by Epstein on the island and nearby St Thomas in 2006.
Hawking was also previously accused of having ‘participated in an underage orgy’ on the island by late Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, according to emails sent by the financier.
Epstein furiously denied the allegation and appears to have instructed his associate Ghislaine Maxwell to offer money to Giuffre’s friends if they could help disprove the claims against Hawking, according to court documents made public two years ago.
Hawking, who died in March 2018 aged 76 after living for more than 50 years with motor neuron disease (ALS), was hosted by Epstein in March 2006, five months before the financier was charged for the first time with soliciting prostitution.
He is referenced at least 250 times in the Epstein Files, a search of the trove of documents released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) revealed. There is no suggestion Hawking appearing in the documents implies any wrongdoing.
Professor Stephen Hawking was seen grinning from ear-to-ear as he sat sandwiched between two bikini-clad women in a photo released in the Jeffrey Epstein files
Hawking was among the global A-listers who were alleged to have passed through Epstein’s 74-acre Little St James Island in the US Virgin Islands
Jeffrey Epstein, seen in an undated photo released by the DOJ, was found dead in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City at the on August 10, 2019
Pictures that emerged in 2015 showed the celebrated physicist in his wheelchair attending a barbecue.
He was later given a submarine tour of the sea bed around Epstein’s island.
The pedophile financier had modified the vessel especially for Hawking who had never been underwater before.
The conference was held at the five-star, $1,600 per night Ritz-Carlton hotel on the island of St Thomas, close to Little Saint James.
A post on the blog of the ‘Jeffrey Epstein VI Foundation’ included details about the conference, called ‘The Energy of Empty Space That Isn’t Zero’.
It stated that guests ‘could meet, discuss, relax on the beach, and take a trip to the nearby private island retreat of the science philanthropist Jeffrey Epstein, who funded the event’.
Guests appeared to have split their time between St Thomas and Little Saint James, where Epstein personally hosted them.
Epstein was said to surround himself with prominent scientists and called himself a ‘science philanthropist’.
Stephen Hawking during the 2006 Energy of Empty Space That Isn’t Zero conference, hosted by Epstein in the US Virgin Islands
During the 2006 trip, Hawking was given a submarine tour of the sea bed around Epstein’s island. The pedophile financier modified the submarine especially for Hawking
Epstein appears to have instructed his associate Ghislaine Maxwell to offer money to Virginia Giuffre’s friends if they could help disprove the ‘underage orgy’ claims against Hawking
He made large donations to scientific causes and at one stage was allegedly giving as much as $20 million a year to fund scientists.
Many of the scientists and researchers distanced themselves after his arrest.
The New York Times reported that Epstein was fixated on ‘transhumanism’ – a belief that the human species can be deliberately advanced through technological breakthroughs such as genetic engineering and artificial intelligence.
It was reported that Epstein would sometimes steer conversations to be about how to improve the human race genetically.
He reportedly told people that he wanted to impregnate as many women as he could to distribute his genes.
FBI officials also received another unsubstantiated tip-off alleging that Epstein visited an ‘all male gay club’ with Hawking in 2011, according to files recently released by the DOJ.
The tipster described the venue as a ‘bath house’ and told officials in 2019 that ‘he was watching the news lately and saw prominent men that were at the club in 2011’.
‘He said at the time he had no idea who they were. Stated there is lots of behavior that goes on there,’ the report outlined.
FBI officials also received another unsubstantiated tip-off alleging that Epstein visited an ‘all male gay club’ with the Hawking in 2011
‘He said Epstein and Steven Hawking were there [sic], as well as some Russian liaisons. He has recognized them from the news.’
The report described how the caller ‘was near tears’ when he said ‘it wasn’t just girls that were affected by Epstein’.
The DOJ has released more than 3.5 million documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Officials have identified more than 6 million documents related to the late pedophile, but will not be releasing the complete trove.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Hawking’s estate for comment.
