The former French culture minister and current president of the Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute) in Paris, Jack Lang, is among those named in newly released documents relating to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The files, released by the US Department of Justice on 30 January, reveal that Lang maintained contact with the disgraced financier over an extended period and requested material favours including the use of Epstein's car and private plane for himself and his family members. Documents also revealed communications between Lang, his wife Monique, and Epstein over a luxury villa in Marrakech that an unnamed acquaintance was looking to sell. A video from the Epstein files shows Lang alongside Epstein in front of the Louvre pyramid, though the date is undetermined.
The document release—comprising three million pages, 2,000 videos, and 180,000 images—was mandated by congress in December 2025, however many documents were heavily redacted.
Lang, 86, has presided over the French cultural institute dedicated to the Arab world since 2013 and previously served twice as France's minister of culture under President François Mitterrand. He has been a prominent figure in French cultural life for decades, championing arts education and international cultural exchange.
Lang said he was introduced to Epstein around 15 years ago by the film director Woody Allen and insisted he had no knowledge of Epstein's criminal activities at the time. “I was completely shocked when I discovered the crimes he had committed,” Lang said in a statement. He had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publishing.
His daughter Caroline Lang, a film producer and former actor, was also named in the Epstein documents. She resigned on Monday (2 February) as president of the Independent Production Union, just three weeks after taking up the role. "I do not want this situation to in any way harm the union," she said in a statement.
The French investigative outlet Mediapart revealed that Epstein founded a company in 2016 based in the US Virgin Islands, with half of its shares held by Caroline Lang. The company, Prytanee LLC, was reportedly intended to support investments in art and had $1.4m in its accounts. Caroline Lang told Mediapart that she met Epstein through Allen and his wife in 2012, when Epstein told her he wanted to "invest in young French and international artists". She said that, looking back, she had been "incredibly naive". Caroline Lang has also been approached by The Art Newspaper for comment.
Epstein died in prison in 2019 in what was officially ruled a suicide, while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
The January 30 files revealed extensive connections to several prominent art world figures. The film producer and art collector Steve Tisch corresponded with Epstein about multiple women in emails from 2013. In one April 2013 email chain with the subject line "Ukrainian Girl", Tisch asked Epstein about a woman he had met, asking "pro or civilian?" Epstein replied the woman was a "civilian, but Russian, and rarely tells the full truth, but fun." In another exchange, Epstein told Tisch "you did very well" with an acquaintance but that she was "a little freaked by the age difference". Tisch said in a statement he had "a brief association" with Epstein discussing "adult women" as well as movies, philanthropy and investments, adding that he "deeply regret[s] associating with" Epstein. Tisch was approached for comment.
Jean Pigozzi, one of the world's leading collectors of contemporary African art, also appeared in the files, with 2013 correspondence showing he and Epstein discussed women's physical attributes. Pigozzi told ARTnews the emails were "stupid" and said of his relationship with Epstein: "I never had anything to do with him and girls. Zero. Nothing." Pigozzi was approached for comment.
Documents also revealed that the artist Jeff Koons met with Epstein, with unsealed files showing Epstein visited Koons's studio. Koons confirmed attending a dinner at Epstein's Upper East Side home in 2013, years after the financier's conviction, but said he "did not have a relationship with Epstein" beyond that event.
Previously reported Epstein links to the art world include the billionaire collector Leon Black, a former chairman of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, who paid Epstein at least $158m between 2012 and 2017 for what Black described as tax and estate planning services. Black stepped down from his role as MoMA board chairman in 2021 after more than 150 artists signed an open letter demanding his removal, though he remains a trustee at the museum.
Koons and Black have been approached for comment.
