Edward Rod-Larsen, the offspring of esteemed Norwegian diplomats, was notably one of the few individuals mentioned in Jeffrey Epstein’s will. However, the depth of his connection with Epstein has largely remained obscure until now.
Recently unveiled emails from the Department of Justice have shed light on this relationship. They reveal that the 25-year-old, who tragically took his own life this week while under investigation regarding his family’s ties to Epstein, had received numerous benefits from the convicted sex offender. Epstein had assumed a role akin to a doting “uncle” to Rod-Larsen, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Among the privileges Rod-Larsen received was work experience arranged by Epstein at the prestigious auction house, Christie’s. Edward was the son of Mona Juul, a former Norwegian ambassador, and Terje Rod-Larsen, who was at the helm of the UN-affiliated International Peace Institute.
In a series of emails, Epstein also offered guidance on various aspects of life, including fashion, communication skills, and grooming tips, portraying a mentor-like influence over Edward.
He also taught Edward how to dress, how to speak, and even how to get his hair cut in a series of emails where he sounded like a mentor.
Epstein edited Edward’s application letter to study at NYU and gave his approval as his parents called in favors from their diplomat friends to try to secure him a place.
Edward was so important to Epstein that, upon his death in 2019, the pedophile left him $5 million in his will, with another $5 million for his sister Emma.
The combined $10 million was the same Epstein left to Ghislaine Maxwell, his former girlfriend and ‘madam’ who recruited underage girls for him to abuse. Nearly seven years after his death, his money is still tied up in court proceedings in the US Virgin Islands.
Edward Juul Rod-Larsen (second to left), 25, was found dead in Oslo on Wednesday, just days after police launched an investigation into his parents, diplomat Terje Rod-Larsen (right) and Mona Juul, a former ambassador (left). Center right, British actress Lydia Leonard
Emails released by the Department of Justice show Epstein had a close relationship with Edward and his family, arranging elite work experience, offering personal advice – and closely guiding the boy’s future
Edward’s family has been under intense pressure since the release of three million files about Epstein by the US Department of Justice earlier this year, which revealed the full extent of their friendship with the pedophile.
They remained close to him for years, even after he was jailed for having sex with children in 2009 and became a registered sex offender.
Photos released by the DOJ show Terje standing next to Bill Gates and an Epstein victim, and holding up a photo of a woman posing in a bikini on social media.
Juul, 66, was forced to resign as Norway’s ambassador to Jordan and Iraq in February.
Her husband, 78, had already quit running the International Peace Institute after admitting he received a $130,000 personal loan from Epstein in 2013.
Both are now being investigated by the financial crime section of the Norwegian police for ‘aggravated corruption’, which they deny.
It is an astonishing fall from grace for a couple who are credited with facilitating the Oslo Accords in the mid-1990s, which laid the framework for the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.
Lawyers for Terje and his wife have suggested that the intense publicity over their links to Epstein in recent months may have been a factor in their son’s suicide.
A picture of Terje Rød Larsen with Bill Gates, Epstein and one of Epstein’s victims was among those released by the Justice Department from the Epstein files
Norwegian and French police launched an investigation into Rod-Larsen and Juul and after it was reported that Epstein left $10 million in his will to the couple’s children. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by the couple
One email from March 2011 shows Edward’s father indicated they had just come back from a trip to Little St James, Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean
This week they criticized the ‘months of public spotlight that has long since ceased to be critical, and has instead become suspicious, speculative and at times limitless’.
In a statement, they said: ‘A spotlight that has not only affected two parents, but has also drawn their children involuntarily into the relentless machinery of the public.’
The files show that Edward would have known of Epstein from at least 2011, when he and his twin sister were aged around ten.
In an email to the pedophile, their father indicated they had just come back from a trip to Little St James, Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean.
‘Thanks for a great day on a wonderful and totally unique place! We all loved it,’ wrote Terje.
He said: ‘Emma and Edward are ecstatic (think the four wheel drives made the strongest impression!)’
By 2016, Edward was studying at the prestigious Stowe School in the UK, where fees are $65,000 a year and former pupils include actor Henry Cavill, businessman Sir Richard Branson and Christopher Robin Milne, the inspiration for his father’s classic, Winnie the Pooh.
Epstein sent Edward a gift directly to his school, which the pedophile’s staff referred to as an ‘exorbitant amount of money’.
One email from 2016 refers to an ‘exorbitant’ amount of money as a gift sent by Epstein to Edward while he was at school
In July 2017, Epstein sent a summary of Edward’s life and noting he needed work experience in an email to David Stern, who said he needed a CV if he was going to approach Standard Chartered, a British bank
While the contents of the gift are not clear, one email refers to a gold Amex card.
By 2017, Epstein mobilized his network to get Edward work experience and contacted his friend David Stern, who was at the time business adviser to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor – then known as Prince Andrew.
In July of that year, Epstein sent a summary of Edward’s life so far to Stern, who said he needed a CV if he was going to approach Standard Chartered, a British bank.
The following month, Edward was in touch with Stern, who appears to have arranged for work experience at the Bank of China.
After Edward shared the good news with Epstein, the pedophile replied: ‘You deserve it.’
Epstein kept a close eye on Edward and during his first day at the bank, he complained to Stern that Edward had been left to ‘sit in an office with no one to talk to’, and that Stern should ‘please check ASAP’.
Epstein helped out again in 2018 when Edward wanted some more work experience: this time at Christie’s.
In a letter to a Christie’s executive, Edward formally applied to work at the auction house for a week, noting that he was ‘informed of this possibility by Mr Epstein.’
In a letter to a Christie’s executive, Edward formally applied to work at the auction house for a week, noting that he was ‘informed of this possibility by Mr Epstein’
Edward forwarded on his correspondence with Christie’s to Epstein who replied with some parental advice about how to present himself
Edward forwarded his correspondence with Christie’s to Epstein, who replied with some parental advice about how to present himself.
In April 2018, Epstein wrote: ‘Proper haircut. Even if short. No likes or ums. Piercings etc. This is an amazing opportunity. Suggest you buzz cut your hair and start again, by July you need to look like a preppy school boy.’
Edward replied: ‘Thank you, I will do that.’
Edward wrote to Epstein at the end of his week at Christie’s, saying it was ‘absolutely great’ and that he wanted to ‘thank you again for this great opportunity’.
Epstein replied: ‘Great happy to hear.’
Edward’s time at Christie’s would prove useful for his biggest challenge so far: applying to study at NYU.
As part of his application, Edward used a letter from Olivia Wallace, a senior executive at Christie’s, who said that he completed the prestigious chairman’s program and that he approached it with ‘impressive maturity and enthusiasm’.
Epstein reviewed the drafts of Edward’s application letter to NYU and suggested some changes, the DOJ emails show.
But it was not just Epstein pulling in favors to get Edward into the college: his own parents did the same.
In a January 2019 email, Edward’s father wrote to Rita Hauser, a former chairman of the International Peace Institute and senior official in the George W Bush and Obama administrations, asking for help.
Rod-Larsen told Hauser, who is a life trustee at NYU’s School of Law, to ‘put in a good word for him [Edward] with NYU.’
Hauser was happy to help and told Edward she would ‘speak to the admissions office and recommend you for early admission’.
After being told about this, Epstein replied: ‘Great.’
Edward’s parents also called in a favor from Lana Nusseibeh, the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations, who wrote a letter to the then NYU President, Andrew Hamilton, backing his application.
The letter states that Edward is a ‘remarkable young man’ who would ‘make a difference in his chosen field of study’.
Edward’s family pulled in favors to help him with another noteworthy week of work experience at London’s Courtauld Institute.
Rod-Larsen and Juul – above, with the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2014 – are known for their roles in the Oslo Accords, the Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts in the 1990s
In an email sent in 2018, Edward told Epstein that ‘one of my mother’s friends’ had helped to make it happen.
By the summer of 2019, Edward was on the waitlist for NYU but had not received a confirmed place yet.
In messages released by the DOJ, Edward anxiously told Epstein: ‘My friend just got told he got in.’
But in another message, Edward appeared more relaxed and said: ‘Thank you very much for the lovely dinner last night.
‘And for the good advice.’
An NYU spokesman told the Daily Mail that Edward never studied at the university.
But it is far from the only time Epstein has been linked with NYU.
In January, Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, wrote a letter to its administration, which said that Epstein paid for one woman whom he abused to study there from 2000 to 2002.
Epstein also donated more than $200,000 in scholarship payments to NYU through one of his charitable organizations.
NYU said in a statement: ‘We are fully committed to cooperating with Representative Raskin’s inquiry. We support efforts to bring transparency to Epstein’s horrific conduct.’
The Daily Mail contacted Edward’s family’s lawyers for comment but they did not respond.
Juul’s lawyer, Thomas Skjelbred, has said that ‘my client does not recognize the accusations made against her.’
