The Emirati Tycoon and the Pedophile: How Sultan bin Sulayem’s Friendship with Jeffrey Epstein Cost Him His Job
Among the thousands of pages of unsealed court documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, one name appears with startling frequency: Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem. The 70-year-old Emirati billionaire, formerly the head of Dubai-based logistics giant DP World, is mentioned over 5,000 times in the recently released files. While many celebrities are trying to distance themselves from the disgraced financier, Bin Sulayem’s deep and amicable connection to Epstein has already had severe professional consequences, leading to his ouster from the company he led for decades.
The nature of their relationship is laid bare in a series of casual, often bizarre emails. One brief exchange from January 2017, just weeks before Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration, highlights the familiarity Bin Sulayem felt with the American elite. « Do you think it is possible to shake Trump’s hand? » Bin Sulayem asked Epstein. The reply was nonchalant: « Call me, we’ll talk about it. »
Whether the handshake ever happened is unclear, but the correspondence between the two men was far from limited to political maneuvering. Their emails paint a picture of a friendship built on shared interests that often veered into the salacious. The messages show them exchanging tips on escort services and pornographic websites. In one particularly crude 2013 email, Bin Sulayem complained to Epstein about a woman, writing, « Big disappointment. The Moldovan is not as attractive as in the photo. »
Perhaps the most disturbing exchange involves a video. In one email, Epstein wrote to Bin Sulayem, « I loved the torture video. » The comment has sparked widespread speculation about the nature of the footage, but its contents remain unknown. What is clear is that Bin Sulayem maintained his friendship with Epstein for over a decade, even after Epstein’s 2008 conviction for procuring a minor for prostitution.
From Customs Officer to Global Power Broker
Bin Sulayem’s fall from grace marks a stunning reversal for a man who helped shape the modern face of Dubai. Born in 1955 into a prominent family, he studied in the United States before returning to the UAE. He began his career as a customs officer in Dubai’s port, but his ambition quickly propelled him upward. In 1985, he became director of the Jebel Ali Free Zone, a pioneering industrial hub that became a cornerstone of Dubai’s explosive economic growth.
He gained international fame in the early 2000s when his real estate company commissioned Dutch dredgers to construct the iconic, palm-tree-shaped islands off Dubai’s coast. As the head of DP World, he transformed the state-owned company into a global logistics powerhouse, overseeing an estimated 10 percent of the world’s trade flow.
The Mossad, Diplomacy, and a Secret Trip to Israel
The Epstein files also reveal Bin Sulayem’s role as a shadow diplomat, facilitated by his friendship with the financier. Epstein’s network was notoriously vast, extending deep into the Middle East. The documents frequently mention Ehud Barak, the former Israeli Prime Minister. (Unproven speculation has long suggested Epstein was a » Mossad agent » trained under Barak).
In 2015, Epstein introduced Bin Sulayem to Barak, five years before the UAE and Israel would formalize relations through the Abraham Accords. Following the introduction, Bin Sulayem made a quiet trip to Tel Aviv. While publicly claiming it was for medical treatment, an email from 2018 reveals his true purpose. “I want to thank you for your help with our visas,” Bin Sulayem wrote to Barak before inviting him to dinner, acknowledging the Israeli’s help in exploring the possibility of diplomatic ties.
After the normalization of relations in 2020, Bin Sulayem reflected on the cultural differences he observed, telling an Israeli business newspaper, « The only difference I see between Israel and the UAE is that people in Israel are very interested in politics, while in the UAE we don’t even talk about it. »
The Fallout
Ultimately, it was not his political maneuvering but his association with a convicted pedophile that ended his career. DP World, facing potential withdrawal of financing from major investment funds in Canada and the UK, moved swiftly to cut ties. Over the past weekend, Bin Sulayem was quietly removed from his position.
The silence from Bin Sulayem himself has been absolute. Meanwhile, the Emirati authorities appear to be hoping the scandal will dissipate. Pro-government influencer Shehab al-Hashimi, who boasts 2.4 million followers on TikTok, posted a video advising the public to ignore the revelations entirely. « Silence is the best way to fight lies, » he said.
Yet, with the avalanche of information contained in the Epstein files, that call for silence seems increasingly futile. Bin Sulayem, once described by Epstein as the « right-hand man » of Dubai’s powerful ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, now finds himself isolated. His brother, Mohammed bin Sulayem, remains president of the FIA (which oversees Formula 1), and DP World is a major sponsor of the McLaren F1 team. But for Sultan bin Sulayem, the email trail linking him to Epstein—full of talk of presidents, pornography, and a « torture video »—has severed his ties to the empire he helped build.