EFTA01897848.pdf
dataset_10 PDF 596.5 KB • Feb 4, 2026 • 5 pages
To: Jeffrey Epstein[jeevacation@gmail.com]
From: Steven Sinofsky
Sent: Wed 4/3/2013 9:52:30 PM
Subject: Re:
oh I see. if that doesn't seem like a "sinofsky not happy" then ok. he might read a lot into a
change--brad is like that.
oh the $10 is obviously steve and not brad. with money steve just has a number (like you say S,
10,15, 20) and so that's it. brad lives to please steve and controls all flow to/from him to make
it look like he is pleasing steve (or bill). at the same time brad never acts like he represents
steve but sees himself above all of this--he thinks he's henry but doesn't know henry or what he
did.
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From: Jeffrey Epstein
Sent: Wednesday, April 3, 2013 2:52 PM
To: Steven Sinofsky
removing means only talking to me and not to jay, so that i can filter and highlight,
On Wed, Apr 3, 2013 at 5:18 PM, Steven Sinofsky wrote:
of course this is all good. there's no blame to go around.
couple of thoughts:
• not sure what me "removing myself" does but up to you
• my view is that they offered a "random $5m" and I came back with make me whole
for leaving and not asking to rest and vest ("the andy lees treatment" as lisa
Brummel/HR calls it). Brad will say this is a cost to me of being removed because was
toxic. So is andy. But $10 seems like a random number halfway between a logical
number and another random number ($5).
• I would prefer not to name Samsung as instead say "Aside from this list of
companies, Steven and other former Microsoft employees can join any organization
without litigation". I want to push on other people and not have them name Samsung
or any other company (box.net for example) a no fly zone •because* of me.
• I don't want to be reciprocal in unenforceable things like non-disparagement. I want
all of that to be one sided. the goal is to make this as petty as possible.
• I have been beyond reproach. It is my style. I just don't do stuff like that about
competitors or just people I don't like.
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Ovitz says hi. We had lunch.
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From: Jeffrey Epstein
Sent: Wednesday, April 3, 2013 1:17 PM
To: Steven Sinofsky
Brad is really at 10. being gracious and above reproach in this negotiation will go a long way
to stopping steve from trashing you. you are right about the pr and i am very sensitve to it.
I will handle it moving foward with jay, you can always blame jay , we will tell brad that you
have removed yourself. I will charge you a one million dollar fee ( i will not get insulted if
you choose not to ). Right at the end, not for jay , I will attempt to specifillay get samsung
approved. letting steve feel good that he fucked you already , will minimize the moving
forward , so i do not want to give up the higher amount demadn until the very last minute
On Wed, Apr 3, 2013 at 9:59 AM, Steven Sinofsk wrote:
My gosh, I am s000 sorry that I was not explicit in showing my appreciation. I am deeply
appreciative from the moment of referral to you checking in on things to the side dialogs
you've had. I'm terribly sorry I did not express that in a way that made it clear.
Thank you.
I'm more than happy to turn this over to you. Any fee you want is fine. That isn't an issue for
me at all. Or if you don't want to be involved that is fine too. I would rather be friends more
than anything.
I'd like you to be involved. I just want you to understand a little more about the situation. It is
more nuanced than a money negotiation i think.
We've both done lots of contracts and have both been more involved with lawyers tons more
than we would have liked. But in very different ways and with different business situations.
Together we bring almost too much experience. :)
For me, the currency in this negotiation isn't money. Steve doesn't care about the money
because he knows I am not motivated by the money. The most important thing for Steve is
foreclosing options for me. That is why he did the negative stuff about me. The second
most important thing is just feeling like he won. That means he gets to brag about
something. Me being a vc is a victory for him. Me being a startup CEO is a victory. Samsung
is a clean loss.
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I have been part of a dozen lawsuits filed after Microsoft people went to competitors. It is
nasty, public, and ultimately Microsoft prevailed in all of them. Either the person backed
down or ended up so tarnished they were ineffective. The suits are filed regardless of the
work--Inevitable leakage of trade secrets".
PR is part of foreclosing options. People do remember pr. Read about "Kai Fu Lee". He was
branded ineffective and then left google as ineffective. He was a traitor then and is now a
traitor to China. Maybe he is all of those in reality, but he was also a leading Carnegie
Melon computer scientist.
This goes back to the 80's and is always done. Senior people leave and there is a lawsuit if they
go to a competitor. Always.
If I choose to be a manager of people, especially a large group, then that group will know about
me almost exclusively through what they read about me. I don't get a chance to charm
them. And because of the lag time from start to releasing a new product it means i have to
change an organization and manage it with a cloud of doubt or worse. Getting the most
out of a team becomes impossible. That's the failure cycle. It is real.
Managing a large team when they get all of their information about their manager from the
web or launching a product when the press thinks they know you is all impossibly hard with
bad "personal pr".
The "sightings" are real. Just like the conference I signed up for this is what impacts
negotiation. I do believe in sharing that with counsel which might be different between us.
Both ways can work (or not).
But the truth is people went straight to Steve and Steve went straight to brad. Just like how
steve fired off panic mail after i signed up to speak at the conference.
It was a "material" event. Samsung is, in Steve's words, "our new biggest competitor".
Microsoft depends on hardware and only two companies that make hardware are
executing--apple and Samsung. Lenovo steals windows and all the others from hp to dell to
asus are betting on android big.
I don't think I have been flip flopping or erratic. I have been frustrated at jays lack of
engagement after the New York meeting. I think this is just like your frustration with his
worries. I have no worries not closing but dragging it out isn't good for anyone since
everything that happens in public changes the negotiation. Even Windows Blue(next
release) gives Steve more confidence he doesn't need to signs this.
His second concern is me stealing people. That's why he wants a gag order.
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The only tool they have is money or suing me. Suing me is hard but hardly impossible. The
only variable is that suing me means a deposition for Steve. But if they don't sue me then
they have to sue everyone who leaves with me. That they don't prefer.
I think:
• $15m to me is fair and reasonable since it was comp i earned modulo the proxy bullshit
which drops 125,000 or so shares. For negotiation more than happy to say "plus 5m cash". I
don't care about the timeline. Id set up an automatic escrow account so I don't have to go
back to them.
• Not working at apple, google until 2014 is fine
• Cooperating and not poaching is fine
• The timeline doesn't matter so long as jay is driving and not letting brad stall. That's new
since jay is dragging now.
I can say yes to Samsung with an agreement. If we don't have an agreement I will get sued
going to Samsung. They know it and i know it. If not then tell me why not?
I think they should agree not to sue other microsoft people who leave to the same company as
me. That's new. That's added because of the way they structured the gag order. If I can't
talk to them about stuff then i can't be recruiting them. If i go to Samsung they can't now
declare that a competitor because of me. People can quit and join other companies.
On Apr 3, 2013, at 4:34 AM, "Jeffrey Epstein" <jeevacation@gmail.com> wrote:
no secret I texted melz. I woudl like you to succeed , which means only to get what you
want, that is for you to decide. I think it is a sensitce negotiation, therefore even more
important to decide on your persaonl prioirites. get it closed, is ok, but if that message
comes out in the wrong way , it wil do you more harm than good . One moment you say it
has to get closed and the next you say im not impatient. If I can help I will , It appears as if
you think i am beating up on you , no thanks . thank you , or the merest sign of
appreciation, I will play any role you choose, except for the villain. I will take total control
and leave you out if thats what you prefer. you are too close , and worried about press,
lawsuits, gossip, percieved slights. I actully know how difficult this is for you, and if i were a
girl woudl give you a hug,. This is not life and death, things will be ok ,
The information contained in this communication is
confidential, may be attorney-client privileged, may
constitute inside information, and is intended only for
the use of the addressee. It is the property of
Jeffrey Epstein
Unauthorized use, disclosure or copying of this
communication or any part thereof is strictly prohibited
and may be unlawful. If you have received this
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communication in error, please notify us immediately by
return e-mail or by e-mail to jeevacation@gmail.com, and
destroy this communication and all copies thereof,
including all attachments. copyright -all rights reserved
************ *** ***** ******* ******* *************************
The information contained in this communication is
confidential, may be attorney-client privileged, may
constitute inside information, and is intended only for
the use of the addressee. It is the property of
Jeffrey Epstein
Unauthorized use, disclosure or copying of this
communication or any part thereof is strictly prohibited
and may be unlawful. If you have received this
communication in error, please notify us immediately by
return e-mail or by e-mail to jeevacation@gmail.com and
destroy this communication and all copies thereof,
including all attachments. copyright -all rights reserved
The information contained in this communication is
confidential, may be attorney-client privileged, may
constitute inside information, and is intended only for
the use of the addressee. It is the property of
Jeffrey Epstein
Unauthorized use, disclosure or copying of this
communication or any part thereof is strictly prohibited
and may be unlawful. If you have received this
communication in error, please notify us immediately by
return e-mail or by e-mail to jeevacation@gmail.com, and
destroy this communication and all copies thereof,
including all attachments. copyright -all rights reserved
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