A second “little black book” reportedly owned by deceased financier and sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein will be sold in a private auction next week, the group facilitating the sale revealed on Friday. The black book, which the auction house claims has been verified by forensic auditors, is said to contain the names and contact information of hundreds of high-profile individuals associated with Epstein—including 221 names not previously revealed in court proceedings.
According to Alexander Historical Auctions, the item is not the “little black book” acquired by the FBI after Epstein’s arrest in 2019. That book, which the disgraced financier complied in 2004, remains in the possession of federal investigators, though many of the names it contains—including Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, Michael Bloomberg, Prince Andrew, and Mick Jagger, among others—have been made public through media leaks.
This second, lesser-known book is actually believed to be an older document dating back to the late 1990s. According to The Daily Beast, which first broke the story, musician Denise Ondayko found the book on a sidewalk in New York City’s East Village in 1997. After discovering that the book contained the names of famous people, Ondayko held onto it until 2020, when she realized its significance following Epstein’s alleged suicide, at which point she sold it on eBay to a man named Chris Helali for $450.
Helali sent copies to multiple media outlets, including the Daily Beast, to have the book verified, telling reported that “I hope this continues to shed light not only on Epstein but on his criminal network and the National Security state.”
As the outlet reports, Helali was eventually contacted by antiques and collectibles dealer Billy Leroy, who persuaded him to put the book up for a proper auction with Alexander Historical Auctions after a previous unsuccessful attempt with another broker.
“When I held it in my hands I really felt the evil energy,” Leroy said of the manuscript. “It sounds crazy but it’s got some heavy mojo.”
The book is said to contain between 300-400 names printed on its pages, along with two “child-like” hand-written entries at the end believed to have been added by Epstein. Of those names, 221 were not included in the 2004 black book, according to a 2021 report from Business Insider. These new names include individuals not previously linked to Epstein, like presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., ex-Playboy CEO Christie Hefner, Trump special advisor Carl Icahn, and Cristina Greeven, wife of ex-CNN anchor Chris Cuomo.
At this point, none of the individuals named in the book have been linked to any of Epstein’s criminal activities.
Alexander Historical Auctions owner Bill Panagopulos stated that the auction house will not be posting the contents of the book ahead of the sale, “but what somebody does with the contents of the book if they buy it is their own business…and at their own risk.”
“They can probably publish it. It’s not copyright,” Panagopulos said. “But if somebody wants this thing to disappear, then they have a chance to buy it privately. I don’t care if they burn it, if they send it into space, if they freeze it in liquid nitrogen and break it into a thousand pieces with a hammer. I don’t care what they do with it!”
The auction house “reserves the right” to disclose the selling price but has said it will “absolutely not” confirm the name of the buyer.
Bidding on Jeffrey Epstein’s black book will begin Wednesday, May 15, and sealed bids will be accepted for the next month. Panagopulos expects that such a rare and controversial piece will attract high-value bidders.
“There are no comparables for the sale of this kind of relic,” he said. “But, based on my experience, if I’m pressed to offer a price I would think it would be $100,000 to $200,000, and up.”
“This criminal relic undoubtedly still has many stories to tell for those who want to do the digging,” he continued. “Jeffrey Epstein was the epitome of evil and this book should be forever kept as evidence of his awful crimes.”
